Trading Partners

Still busily blanketing the U.S. with stores, the largest retailer is also becoming a major presence in countries around the globe. So far, its prospects are bigger than its problems.

AMSTERDAM -- Dutch supermarket and food retailer Royal Ahold NV today said it had appointed Lawrence S. Benjamin the new c.e.o. at its U.S. Foodservice division, which earlier this year was at the center of an accounting irregularities scandal.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The WorldWide Retail Exchange, an Internet-based business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers, announced yesterday a collaborative initiative with UDEX, a global provider of data normalization services, to enable the sharing of product information between WWRE members and UDEX's extensive list of supply-side trading partners

WASHINGTON - The interim final bioterrorism regulations released Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were viewed positively by the Food Marketing Institute and other food industry trade groups.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Acosta Sales and Marketing Co. has signed a letter of intent to acquire Priority Food Brokers, a leading fresh foods sales and marketing agency serving the Baltimore/Washington D.C. market.

WASHINGTON -- Half of American consumers surveyed say they will eat more low-fat foods and cook more meals from scratch at home in 2004, according to a new survey conducted for the Grocery Manufacturers of America by Phil Lempert on his SupermarketGuru.com Web site.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Pathmark Stores has signed on with UCCnet to implement a trading partner collaboration initiative designed to enhance relationships with suppliers and improve accuracy of its item file.

WASHINGTON - According to an audit released today by the USDA's inspector general, meat inspectors' repeated warnings that ground beef at a ConAgra plant was contaminated with harmful bacteria were ignored.