Nonfoods

When it comes to grocery-related content, U.S. consumers are turning more to the Web as an information source. According to the comScore Media Metrix in May 2009, total unique visitors for the coupons category have increased 19 percent year over year. How leading food retailers are responding to this shift is the subject of a white paper by Willard Bishop, LLC “What the Competition Doesn’t Want You to Know About How Grocery Shoppers Are Using the Web.”

To introduce consumers to its new ice cream line, Starbucks and Unilever are offering free pints to Facebook users.

Verlaque Fine Foods manufacturers high-quality balsamic reductions infused with fruits native to South Africa.

The Obama administration yesterday took the first step toward overhauling and modernizing the country’s food safety system, including stricter rules for the production of eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes.

MOM’s Organic Market will open a store at the newly renovated Hilltop Plaza in Bowie, Md., marking the organic grocery chain’s sixth location.

Sustainable packaging is not as high a concern to Americans as it is to many others around the world, according to new Datamonitor report.

Changes to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which will expand participants’ options to include fresh fruit and vegetables, require grocers nationwide to take note and follow some simple guidelines to ensure a smooth implementation phase, according to Brenda Berry, WIC account executive with St. Louis Park, Minn.-based MoneyGram International.

Adult obesity rates did not decrease in a single state over the past year, but rather increased in 23 states. Also, the percentage of obese and overweight children is now at or above 30 percent in 30 states.