Center Store

TOKYO - Seiyu, the troubled Japanese supermarket group in which Wal-Mart holds 37.8 percent, today announced it would cut up to 25 percent of its full-time workforce as part of an ongoing reorganization, according to published reports.

WASHINGTON - Associations for the nation's leading produce, beef, pork and seafood producers, along with food retailers and wholesalers, are joining forces to craft a cost-effective, voluntary program that would provide consumers country of origin information.

DENVER - U.S. regulators are probing Coca-Cola Co. over accusations raised last year in a lawsuit by a former employee who charged the world's largest soft drink maker with inflating earnings, the company said yesterday, according to Reuters.

MESA, Ariz. - Wal-Mart Stores opened its first two Arizona Neighborhood Markets stores in this Phoenix suburb yesterday as part of an effort to capture more market share in the state.

DENVER - Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, Colo., has introduced a bill that would ban supermarket discount cards, claiming that stores use the cards to gather information about customers' buying habits and then sell that to other companies.

DENVER - The first case of mad cow disease in the United States may encourage consumers to try buffalo, according to a Reuters report.

DALLAS - 7-Eleven, the nation's leading convenience store chain, is launching a national awareness program, "Better Choices, Better Year," with Atkins controlled-carb products headlining an array of better-for-you offerings.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Select Winn-Dixie, Thriftway and SaveRite pharmacies are now offering the FluMist nasal spray, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Winn-Dixie announced last week.