Packaging

LOS ANGELES AND ST. LOUIS -- Smart & Final and Schnucks Markets will be the first grocery customers to add EarthShell Packaging plates and bowls by its United States-based licensee, ReNewable Products, Inc. (RPI).

ROCKVILLE, Md.-- MOM's -- short for My Organic Market -- a Washington, D.C.-area retail grocer of fresh organic and pre-packaged foods, said yesterday that it had launched its "Think Outside the Bag" initiative to reduce the grocery bags it uses by half.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- American Italian Pasta Co. (AIPC) here, the largest producer and marketer of dry pasta in North America, is unveiling new packaging for its Mueller's pasta line that features the brand's traditional blue, red, and white colors and bold new graphics.

BOULDER, Colo. -- The country's supply of certified organic dairy products isn't meeting consumer demand. Horizon Organic, the nation's leading marketer of organic milk here, said yesterday it will address the supply shortage with a $13 million Land Stewardship Initiative.

MATTHEWS, N.C. -- Regional retailer Harris Teeter here is expanding its Naturals private label line of organic and ecological-friendly products with 100 percent corn-based cold drink cups manufactured by Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Fabri-Kal Corp.

WASHINGTON -- The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association (United) and the University of Georgia (UGA) Food Science Extension Outreach Program are partnering once again to co-host a fresh produce industry food safety workshop.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Declaring it an "important step" toward ensuring its imported shrimp is farmed with environmental sustainability in mind, Wal-Mart here said it will now certify that all its foreign shrimp suppliers adhere to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The California grocery industry has joined forces with the city government to reduce, reuse, and recycle grocery store checkout bags.