Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

DETROIT - Kmart Corp. today announced it will close 284 under-performing stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, and eliminate around 22,000 positions as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

NEW YORK - A U.S. federal judge is expected to approve a $9 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against several food companies that sold products containing genetically modified corn, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

CHICAGO - A bankruptcy court approved $2 billion Wednesday in new financing for Kmart Corp., plus up to $150 million in bonuses to encourage key employees to stay with the company, The Associated Press reports.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The nation's largest food manufacturers and restaurant industry executives will gather at The Food Safety Summit in Washington, DC March 13-15 to discuss how to protect the nation's food supplies from the threat of bioterrorism.

LONDON - British supermarket group Asda said today it will lobby the UK to allow more competition in the pharmacy industry, potentially saving consumers 420 million pounds ($600 million) a year, Reuters reports.

DALLAS - The Board of Governors of Food Distributors International (FDI) has approved a plan in which the association's wholesale grocery companies will join an umbrella organization with members of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI).

NEW YORK - A recent study conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York found that just 7 percent of parents of allergic children could correctly spot milk as an ingredient in foods found in grocery stores across the nation, Reuters reports.

DUBLIN, Ireland - The Irish government today began collecting a 13 cent environmental tax on plastic bags used in supermarkets, convenience stores and other shops, The Associated Press reports.