Industry

YOKOHAMA, Japan - A group of international food experts on Friday agreed on a framework for assessing the risks of biotech foods, establishing global guidelines that could help shape countries' food policies and influence trade disputes, Reuters reports.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. -- Hundreds of unionized supermarket workers from as far away as Chicago today attended a rally in support of the right for the workers at Genuardi's Supermarkets to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. Genuardi's is owned by Safeway, one of the largest supermarket companies in the nation.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Birmingham Business Journal has recognized Publix's entrance into the Birmingham market as its 2002 Retail Deal of the Year. Judges cited the swiftness and magnitude with which Publix launched, combined with the expected impact on fierce competition.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco Wholesale Corp. on Wednesday reported that its profit dropped 5.4 percent in the second quarter, even though revenue jumped 7.8 percent.

WASHINGTON - Wal-Mart, Wegmans, H-E-B, and Marsh Supermarkets were recognized at the 2003 Retail Conference & Expo: Marketing Magazines and Books for "Best Practices" in periodical retailing.

AMSTERDAM - Shares in global supermarkets and foodservice group Ahold opened 10 percent higher on Monday after a report that British retailer Tesco was considering a takeover bid for the Dutch group.

MILWAUKEE - Although customer satisfaction dropped slightly in the last quarter and has been flat in the past year, household spending should rebound somewhat, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a leading indicator of consumer spending.

PARIS - Customer loyalty, food safety and internationalization of food retailing are the leading 'top of mind' issues among food retailers and suppliers, according to the 2003 worldwide survey conducted by CIES - The Food Business Forum.