Newswatch 2010-04-19 (1)

LOBLAW FUNDS SUSTAINABILITY CHAIR

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Loblaw Companies here has partnered with the University of Guelph on its sustainable food research and education efforts, donating $3 million to create The Loblaw Companies Limited Chair in Sustainable Food Production. The new position will become central to the university's research focus on creating sustainable food production systems. “Through this initiative, we believe we can help to increase Canada's capacity to produce food sustainably, train tomorrow's industry leaders, contribute to policy development, meet consumers' needs and nurture our environment,” Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Companies, said in a release. “It represents the defining strategy for Loblaw over the next two decades.”

GIANT, STOP & SHOP CLOSE STARBUCKS

NEW YORK — Starbucks has closed 19 licensed stores at Stop & Shop and Giant locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in recent weeks, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires. Last year, the two Royal Ahold chains closed a combined total of 43 Starbucks cafes. “Starbucks, Stop & Shop and Giant decided that these stores were not performing at levels that would allow them to continue operating,” a Starbucks spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires. Going forward, Giant will continue to operate 12 Starbucks locations, while Stop & Shop will still operate 29.

KROGER EXPANDS COUNTRY OVEN

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Kroger has announced plans to invest $10.6 million in its Country Oven Bakery here, according to a news release issued by Kentucky's Cabinet for Economic Development. The bakery supplies frozen dough, breads and iced cakes to the Cincinnati-based retailer. The investment will finance positions for 33 new employees, along with a 50,000 square-foot expansion of the bakery's production facility to accommodate a second cake line.

PMA NAMES NEW SUPPLY CHAIN VP

NEWARK, Del. — The Produce Marketing Association here has named Edmund Treacy, an engineering and distribution logistics expert who has held positions at Sobeys and Loblaw Companies, to the newly-created position of vice president of supply chain efficiencies. Among his responsibilities, Treacy will monitor and forecast trends related to supply chain efficiencies, and design and maintain related products, services and educational events for PMA members, according to a release from PMA. He also will serve as staff lead and technical resource to the industry-wide Produce Traceability Initiative and lead all data synchronization and alignment initiatives for PMA. The organization also noted that he will be responsible for many of the duties previously managed by Gary Fleming, former PMA vice president of industry technology and standards.

CSC WINS NSF FOOD SAFETY AWARD

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The California Strawberry Commission last week received a 2010 Food Safety Leadership Award from NSF International, an independent non-profit organization committed to improving public health and safety with a focus on food, drinking water, indoor air and the environment. NSF praised the strawberry commission for researching and developing some of the industry's first commodity-specific food safety and harvest guidelines, and then creating the new “Food Safety Practices for Strawberry Harvest Workers,” program, which offers language-neutral training materials to teach harvest crews pick and handle fruit in accordance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Good Agricultural Practices guidelines.