AMERICAN STORES CO., Salt Lake City, will buy 11 drug stores in Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa from Minneapolis-based Snyder Drug Stores, Snyder officials said last week. The sale is expected to be completed Oct. 22. Terms were not disclosed. American Stores operates drug stores under the Osco Drug banner in those three states.
nits. Margaret Urquart, president of Lowes Foods, will oversee both chains. A spokeswoman for the retail division said the company will determine in the next 60 to 90 days which Byrd stores will be rebannered as Lowes.
VONS COS. WILL MOVE FORWARD with its lawsuit against a group of 85 Jack-in-the Box restaurants and their parent company, Foodmaker Inc. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that Vons, Arcadia, Calif., could sue out-of-state restaurants in a California court. Vons, one of the companies that supplied meat patties to the fast-food chain, was hit with a lawsuit by the franchisers, after they claimed they lost business following a 1993 E. coli outbreak that was traced to Jack-in-the-Box hamburgers. Vons' countersuit against Foodmaker and the restaurants said the outbreak could have been prevented if the burgers were cooked properly.
RICKEL HOME CENTERS, South Plainfield, N.J., said last week it will go out of business by the end of the year. The 49-store chain, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since last year, was owned at one point by Pathmark Stores' parent company, Supermarkets General Holdings Corp., Woodbridge, N.J. SGHC sold Rickel in 1994 to a New York City-based investor group.
FRITO-LAY CO., Plano, Texas, announced last week the acquisition of Cracker Jack from Borden Foods, Columbus, Ohio. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Frito-Lay said it will reinvigorate the 104-year-old Cracker Jack brand by providing product improvement news, expanding distribution and creating exciting national marketing and advertising programs. Frito-Lay, the snack food division of PepsiCo, also manufactures Lay's Potato Chips, Doritos Tortilla Chips and Cheetos.
CONGRESS IS CLOSE TO completing a three-year effort to reform the Food and Drug Administration with the House vote last week to approve its version of reform of the agency that regulates food safety, drugs and medical devices.
The House approved its version of FDA reform in a voice vote, while the Senate approved its version in an overwhelming 98-2 vote on Sept. 24. The two bills are expected to be reconciled in the coming weeks.
The landmark legislation would expedite FDA approval of new medicines, streamline the approval process for medical devices, ease access to experimental drugs and reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. On food safety, the bill would permit health claim information on labels provided a scientific body of the federal government has published a statement providing a scientific basis for the health claim; and the food does not contain a disqualifying level of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol or salt.
The bill also would permit nutrient content information in cases where the FDA has not promulgated regulations as long as scientific evidence is available. The bill also would eliminate the requirement that nutrient content claims be accompanied by the referral statement, "see back panel for nutrition information," on the grounds that most consumers are familiar enough with package design to know where to look.
In addition, the bill would permit food manufacturers to market their products if the FDA does not object within 120 days to the type of packaging and surfaces that come in contact with the food. Current law requires the FDA put surfaces that come into contact with food through a sometimes lengthy process. On irradiation, the bill removes the current requirement that the radiation symbol be displayed prominently when food is irradiated to remove bacteria, parasites, mold and fungi. Some think the symbol is having the unintended effect of scaring consumers away from a product that has been determined to be safe.
The measure removes several regulations covering the sale of margarine and puts the product under the same rules governing vegetable and butter products. Currently, margarine must meet more rigid standards for fear that customers don't know the differences between it and butter.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America here has lauded House passage of the measure calling it "an important first step in improving the food functions of the FDA."
