Nonfoods

QUINCY, Mass. -- Stop & Shop here is uniting technology with fresh fruit growers to come up with "Orchard Perfect" fruit, now exclusively available in all of the Ahold-owned banner's stores. The line's sun-ripened, hand-picked California summer fruits are gently layered by hand into single-layer cartons to prevent bruising. This process ensures that the fruit is ready to eat as soon as it arrives in the stores. The line includes peaches, nectarines, plums, white flesh peaches and white flesh nectarines.

RICHMOND, B.C. -- Dag Felck, organic program manager at Nature's Path Foods here, has been appointed to the Organic Trade Association's board of directors. Falck came to Nature's Path in May 2003.

MILWAUKEE -- Roundy's Supermarkets here and specialty produce pioneer Frieda's, Inc. completed a successful in-store educational partner event over the weekend throughout Pick 'n Save, Copps, and Rainbow grocery stores to elevate consumer knowledge of nontraditional fresh produce.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- The Grocery Manufacturers Association's board of directors gave the green light over the weekend to the trade association's proposed merger with another trade group, the Food Products Association.

ATLANTA -- The Coca-Cola Co. here implied in a court filing that Wal-Mart used its size and market power to pressure the soft drink supplier to switch its delivery terms.

DOVER, Del. -- A bill to allow supermarkets to sell beer in the state of Delaware has stalled in the House of Representatives' business, corporations and commerce committee, where it could stay until the legislative session ends July 1.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- As organic and natural foods move increasingly into the mainstream, Big Y here will introduce a new store format this autumn to tap into the trend. The new format, to be called Fresh Acres, is a smaller footprint than other Big Y units, offering fresh, natural, and easy-to-prepare items for busy shoppers, according to company executives.

McLEAN, Va. -- The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) here commended congressional conferees for including $118 million in emergency appropriations for recovery and rebuilding efforts in H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. This funding is a result of the federal Fisheries Declaration of Disaster after Hurricane Katrina in October 2005.