Nonfoods

WASHINGTON - The government-appointed Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on Friday proposed its new federal dietary guidelines, which are issued every five years and form the basis of the food pyramid.

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has pledged to ensure that country of origin labeling "is implemented as Congress intended," according to a position paper on the Kerry-Edwards 2004 Campaign Web site.

HOUSTON - The Grocers Supply Co., Inc., a regional distributor based here, announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Fiesta Mart, Inc., a Texas chain that it has supplied since 1972.

TORONTO - Longo Brothers Fruit Markets, Inc. (Longo's), an Ontario, Canada-based family-run independent grocer, has taken over operations of online grocer Grocery Gateway, Inc., and plans to acquire its retail grocery business.

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - e-FoodSafety.com, Inc., a firm that provides methods and products to ensure the safety of fruits, vegetables, and meats, has appointed Michael D. Yingst to its senior management team. Yingst is the director of sales for the Ozone Safe Food division of eFoodSafety.com and will be responsible for the sales and marketing of the company's custom ozone equipment.

NEW YORK ¿ The National Dairy Council has teamed with WebMD Weight Loss Clinic to sponsor a new weight-loss program that touts eating three daily servings of dairy products as part of a reduced-calorie diet.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Despite being told for years of the health benefits of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, most Americans still aren't consuming enough produce, according to a recent study conducted by ACNielsen for Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), based here.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Planet Organic Health Corp., which operates natural food supermarkets in Edmonton, Victoria, Calgary, and Port Coquitlam, as well as a chain of supplement and market stores across Canada, said yesterday it had signed an agreement to acquire Halifax, Nova Scotia-based retailer Great Ocean Natural Foods.