Center Store

WASHINGTON - Enrollment in the U.S. food stamp program will climb by nearly one million people in fiscal 2004 due to the soft economy and restoration of benefits to legal immigrants, the Bush administration said on Monday.

Over-the-counter cold medicines are going behind the counter in many supermarkets to keep them away from makers of illegal methamphetamines.

With the depletion of many domestic species, smart retail marketers are promoting fish from waters all over the world.

Among 8- to 10-year-olds, center store products that market directly to kids are the "coolest." But such fame can be fleeting.

LONDON - Some scientists are questioning whether a steady diet of hamburgers, fries and foods high in fat and loaded with calories could be addictive, Reuters reports.

THOMASVILLE, Ga. - Packaged bakery foods company Flowers Foods Inc. on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $9.9 million, or 33 cents a share, while announcing plans to sell its Mrs. Smith's Frozen Dessert business less than a year after the company started restructuring, according to Dow Jones newswire.

SAN DIEGO and SUNBURY, Pa. - Two supermarket chains, Safeway and Weis Markets, recently signed on with SureBeam Corp. to offer consumers in several Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states irradiated fresh ground beef.

WASHINGTON - New rules proposed Wednesday by officials at the Food and Drug Administration would require importers of most food and beverages to notify the government before their products could enter the United States, The Associated Press reports.