Nonfoods

AUSTIN, Texas -- Whole Foods Market here said yesterday it will offer a special series of healthy-lifestyle workshops in March to celebrate National Nutrition Month, at its three northern New Jersey stores.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Extreme-value retailer Grocery Outlet Inc. here yesterday promoted MacGregor Read and Eric Lindberg to co-chief executive officers, to spearhead a strategy for aggressive growth over the next few years.

WASHINGTON -- The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has proposed a rule that would make public the lists of retail outlets that have received products that have subsequently been recalled.

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) here last week introduced a new certification program that will reward stores with regulatory relief if they voluntarily develop sustainable programs for reusing organics and other wastes, rather than discarding them.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Through a sourcing deal with a regional fish farm, Big Y Foods will buy 5,000 pounds a week of barramundi, a freshwater fish originally from Australia, while the farm, Montague, Mass.-based Australis Aquaculture, LLC will expand its capacity with a 19,400-square-foot addition.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- Associated Food Stores, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Supervalu, Unified Western Grocers, Wal-Mart, and Wegmans Food Markets combined their voices in a chorus to urge suppliers to adopt a number of strategic activities to expand data synchronization.

ST. LOUIS -- Schnucks Markets here will give the traditional prepared foods department in its Arsenal supermarket "the boot," so to speak, with a specialty concept called "A Taste of Italy."

Retailers at a PG roundtable debate the pros and cons of loyalty programs.