- The European Union’s new rules on food labeling go into effect later this month, requiring manufacturers to say on packaging whether products contain certain allergens, such as nuts, milk, eggs and fish.
However, there remains some criticism of the rules – such as the fact that prepared foods are exempt from the regulations.
- BJ’s Wholesale Club, the nation’s third-ranked wholesale club chain, has broken ground on a new 618,000 square foot, state-of-the-art distribution center in Uxbridge, Mass., that is scheduled to open in July 2006.
When open, it will be one of three warehouses that BJ’s operates to support its 159 stores on the east coast.
- 7-Eleven Inc. reportedly has signed a deal that will double the number of financial services kiosks inside its US stores from 1,000 to about 2,000. The kiosks offer check cashing, Western Union money transfers, and bill payment.
- The Arizona Republic reports that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has long refused to budge from its stance that raw milk is dangerous, possibly carrying high levels of potentially deadly pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. State dairy regulators, also concerned about the health risks, enforce strict rules on raw-milk producers and sellers and are cracking down on illegal practices.
“Still, consumer demand is brisk. Nationally and in Arizona, people are breaking the law to get their hands on raw organic milk, claiming it is superior in health and taste to the pasteurized, homogenized milk found on the supermarket shelf. They swear it tastes like melted vanilla ice cream.”
The paper notes that it is “legal to sell raw milk or raw organic milk in Arizona with a state permit.”
