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ZURICH, Switzerland - Swiss food and beverage company Nestle SA today declined to comment on a report it made a preliminary bid of around $11.5 billion for U.S. chocolate company Hershey Foods Corp., Dow Jones Newswires reports.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - CB Ragland Co., a Nashville-based wholesale grocery distributor, has said it will close its warehouse and liquidate its assets in October after 83 years as an independent family business, The City Paper in Nashville reports.

LOS ANGELES - New research by ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU Company, shows that organic food shoppers are extremely loyal to the category, while non-buyers have virtually no interest in organic products. Both groups likely need more education on the topic.

BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons Inc. on Tuesday said a "virtual food drive" being conducted this month at nearly 900 of its food and drug stores in 18 states, will raise more than one million pounds of food for America's Second Harvest.

Charlotte, N.C. - Elogex Inc., provider of collaborative logistics solutions, today announced that Bozzuto's, a New England-based wholesale grocer, has selected its transportation logistics platform.

HAVANA - Cuban supermarkets on Sunday received the first shipment of U.S. brand-name food sold directly to the communist country since Washington imposed an embargo more than 40 years ago, Reuters reports.

HOUSTON - Houston-based food safety company Suntex Group Ltd. has inked a deal with The Kroger Co. to offer Suntex Clean fully sanitized, ready-to-eat fresh produce in all 125 Houston-area Kroger stores.

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices barely edged higher in July as a sharp drop in clothing prices helped temper rising food, energy and medical care costs, the government said today.