FOOD SAFETY CAMPAIGN SURPASSES $10 MILLION

WASHINGTON -- The Food Marketing Institute here said last week greater consumer awareness of safe food-handling practices received a giant boost when contributions to FMI Foundation's Safeguarding Our Last Link campaign surpassed its overall goal of $10 million.

Georgia-Pacific at $100,00, and Kellogg's at $50,000 joined nearly 100 companies contributing to the initiative at various levels. "These gifts continue to support the industry's ongoing effort to educate those for whom we advocate most -- the consumer," said Tim Hammonds, FMI president and chief executive officer. "These companies affirm our commitment to charting the course for food safety education and bring significant momentum to the campaign."

Safeguarding Our Last Link is the FMI Foundation's multi-phased, national fundraising campaign for funding to educate consumers on basic safe food-handling practices. The campaign seeks levels of support that may be paid over a three-to-five-year period. Food retailers and wholesalers, food producers, processors and manufacturers are some of the contributors.

In 1999, the FMI Foundation announced an inaugural grant to the Partnership for Food Safety Education, a public-private partnership of industry, government and consumer groups dedicated to reducing the incidence of foodborne illness. The grant funds the food safety education program FightBAC!

In a separate development, FMI said last week its Retail Electronic Payment Systems Conference, Nov. 15-17 in Atlanta, will examine how innovations in electronic payments continue to shape costs and efficiencies for retailers.

Highlighting the conference agenda are sessions on payment fraud avoidance and detection, paper check conversion, smart and stored valued cards, cyber payments and radio frequency scanning. Two idea exchange sessions complete the educational program. Scheduled speakers include Rich Oliver, senior vice president, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, who will deliver the keynote address, and Michael Sansolo, FMI senior vice president, industry relations, research and education.