FOOD-SERVICE AGENDA ON THE TABLE AT FMI

ROSEANNE HARPER

WASHINGTON -- The Food Marketing Institute here has set a preliminary agenda for its annual supermarket food-service conference Sept. 18 to 20 in Rochester, N.Y.

Scheduled seminars will focus on government regulations, food safety and sanitation, marketing, distributor and retailer relationships, and how to determine and address what shoppers want from supermarket operators.

Jack Allen and Tom Pierson, professors of food marketing at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., will present in-depth profiles of the deli and food service operations of three supermarket companies noted for their progressive departments.

A seminar entitled "Let's Talk -- Government Regulations and the Food Industry" will feature a panel of representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food & Drug Administration and the retail sector.

Another seminar, "The Food Court Debate," will be an interactive session on whether or not supermarkets should attempt to sell meals in a "food court" setting.

A number of other topics will be discussed at two scheduled "Idea Exchange" breakfasts. Registrants are urged to submit subjects they would like to hear about at those breakfasts.

Store tours, set for the first day of the conference, will include two units of Wegmans Food Markets. One of those will be Wegmans' Canandaigua, N.Y., store which features a Market Cafe, the 47-unit chain's version of a food court, designed to have the atmosphere of a European outdoor marketplace.

James Riesenburger, director of deli operations for Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans, is program chairman for FMI's food service conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

For registration or additional information, contact, Tricia Lowney, FMI, 800 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20006-2701. Telephone: (202) 452-8444.