Pharmacy

After 39 negotiating sessions between Philadelphia-based Acme Markets subsidiary and the local labor union that represents its retail clerks over the past 18 months, executives from the Supervalu-owned supermarket chain said they’re prepared for a walkout next month but hope their 4,500 unionized workers in southeastern Pennsylvania will accept the company’s final contract offer to curtail such an action.

NSF International and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) recently announced their joint roles in administering the Smart Choices Program™ — a new nutritional front-of-package labeling program.

Another consumer-friendly on-package consumer nutrition labeling program has been unveiled, this time by NSF International and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), which have teamed up to administer the new Smart Choices Program. The nutrition labeling program will aim to provide manufacturers and retailers with a reliable front-of-pack icon plus calorie information that helps consumers recognize smarter food and beverage products within product categories.

Evolve Kefir has added Blueberry and Pomegranate flavors to its cultured milk beverage product line, which also consists of Plain, Strawberry and Peach varieties. Offering 11 live and active cultures, including two probiotic strains, the product aids digestion and helps the body maintain healthy immunity functions, according to South Hackensack, N.J.-based Evolve, which has further enriched the traditional Caucasus-region drink with fiber, protein and calcium.

Mott’s, the nation’s leading producer of branded apple sauce and apple juice, is showing its support for Susan G. Komen for the Cure with “Pink to the Core” limited-edition Mott’s Plus Apple Sauce and Mott’s Healthy Harvest Apple Sauce, which will be available on store shelves through October. In connection with the promotion, the well-known brand has pledged to donate $300,000 to the organization, the world’s largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.

The October 2009 issue of Progressive Grocer will feature our editors’ picks for the BEST NEW CONSUMER PRODUCTS introduced since July 2008, providing companies the chance to nominate their new product(s).

As summer arrives, people break out the iced tea and lemonade decanters, but Half Moon Bay, Calif.-based Odwalla has gone one better. The natural health beverage company is introducing two new light drinks just in time for the coming heat waves: Light Lemonade and Light Limeade.

A study of 8,000 people ages 2 to 85 has found that folic acid — or vitamin B9 — may help reduce allergies and asthma, reports Medical News Today.