FMI'S MEALSOLUTIONS '96 IS GENERATING ABUNDANT INTEREST

STEPHEN DOWDELL

WASHINGTON -- More than 800 retailers and wholesalers from the supermarket business have preregistered for the Food Marketing Institute's fresh prepared foods and value-added products show, MealSolutions '96, the trade group said last week.

The meeting, featuring speeches, workshops and exhibits, is scheduled to take place in Phoenix Sept. 8 to 10. The level of interest in FMI's first such event has been "fantastic," according to Sherrie Rosenblatt, the association's manager of media relations.

Rosenblatt said earlier expectations of about 2,000 attendees are presently being adjusted to 3,000 anticipated by the time the show begins.

About 120 companies to date have signed on as exhibitors, representing a diverse collection of products and services that includes cooking equipment, merchandising cases and accessories, packaging, fresh fully prepared foods, value-added fresh produce, and menu planning.

The meeting format will feature an "interactive educational environment," with chefs using exhibitors' products to demonstrate menu ideas.

Groups of workshops are slated to cover broad topics such as delivery systems and logistics, design and decor of in-store meals departments, menu development and program management.

FMI has also added a separate workshop track on food safety to encourage attendance from the layer of chain management that bears primary responsibility for food safety systems.

"Companies can send their food safety specialists to the show," said FMI in a statement.