Perimeter

Bottled water continues to ride an unquenchable popularity wave, with no crest in sight.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. - Kraft Foods, Inc., based here, yesterday bought Littleton, Mass.-based Veryfine Products, Inc., a juice maker that has been owned by the same family since 1900, according to published reports. Terms of the purchase weren't disclosed.

BALTIMORE -- Giant and Safeway supermarkets in the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as the union representing 29,000 of their employees, are facing a Tuesday deadline for a new contract -- and the possibility of a strike that could affect hundreds of local supermarkets and prompt thousands of workers to join picket lines, the Baltimore Sun reports.

WASHINGTON - Acrylamide, a cancer-causing substance that has been found in fried potatoes, is also found in such foods as olives, prune juice, and teething biscuits, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said. Still, scientists stress that the public health significance of acrylamide remains unknown.

Organic and all-natural groceries have skyrocketed in popularity, the result of consumers embracing a healthier lifestyle and the introduction of more accessible products.

Low-carb mania is sweeping the nation, but is it a lifestyle change or just another oat bran-style fad?

As popular low-carb diets urge consumers to kiss spuds goodbye, potato producers whip into damage-control mode.

MILWAUKEE - Customer satisfaction among Americans hit a nine-year high in 2003, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. The score for supermarkets was slightly down, with Publix coming again once again as the top-rated food retailer.