Center Store

PARIS - Local food shops or "epiceries" in France have decreased by more than 70 percent over the past 30 years after supermarket chains made their debut, according to a report released today by the government statistics agency, INSEE, The Associated Press reports.

WASHINGTON - Some of the nation's largest employers including Wal-Mart joined a group of governors on Monday in urging Congress to close loopholes used by big drug companies to delay generics from reaching pharmacy shelves, Newark, New Jersey's Star-Ledger newspaper reports.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - Fresh Brands Inc. today reported record sales and earnings per share for its fiscal year ended Dec. 29, 2001.

WASHINGTON - A new report conducted for the Institute of Food Technologists suggests America's food supply will be threatened by dangerous bacteria for a long time as new germs arrive in imported products and microbes already here develop in new forms, The Associated Press reports.

WASHINGTON - The government reported today that consumer inflation rose 0.2 percent in January, lifted by the largest increase in gasoline prices in four months and higher prices for fruits and vegetables, The Associated Press reports.

SUWANEE, Ga. - Mrs. Smith's Bakeries, the country's leading frozen dessert company and a business unit of Flowers Foods, has acquired the Gordon's Pies brand of baked fruit pies.

ZAANDAM, The Netherlands - Ahold today announced the opening of a new, extra-large store format in the Dutch market known as Albert Heijn XL.

CHICAGO - Kraft Foods Inc. is once again a target of Genetically Engineered Food Alert, the Washington-based group whose research led to Kraft's recall of taco shells containing StarLink last year, Reuters reports.