Best Practices

WASHINGTON - A report issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office warns that weaknesses in import controls and lax enforcement of animal feed rules could make it easy for mad cow disease to enter the country, The Associated Press reports.

CHICAGO - While trust seems to be eroding across numerous business sectors in America, supermarkets rated highest in the latest Golin/Harris Trust survey.

ZURICH - Swiss healthcare group Novartis AG and U.S. drinks and snack food giant PepsiCo Inc. have ended their functional foods joint venture less than two years after its launch, Reuters reports.

NEW YORK - Shopping on the Internet is experiencing rapid growth today due to a combination of factors led by convenience, according to a national study, "How America Shops 2002, The Overstuffed Consumer," conducted by WSL Strategic Retail, in New York.

MILWAUKEE - Customer satisfaction with the quality of goods and services available to American consumers in the retail, finance and e-commerce sectors rose during the final quarter of 2001, offsetting a drop that began in late 2000, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

NEW YORK - U.S. consumers felt their most upbeat in a year in January, the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment showed today.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing that the meat inspection process is changed voluntarily, although congressional investigators say there's no proof the new system is as safe as the traditional program, The Associated Press reports.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - ACNielsen U.S. has found the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index to be a good predictor of future changes in consumer purchasing of food, health and beauty aids, and non-food consumer packaged goods (CPG).