Trading Partners

COLTON, Calif. -- A letter of intent has been entered into by Stater Bros. and its partners, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, and Tropicana, to sponsor the Stater Bros. 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 26. The sponsorship agreement will run through 2009.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- In full-page ads published in more than 100 newspapers across the country, Wal-Mart c.e.o. H. Lee Scott said yesterday it was time for the public to hear the "unfiltered truth" about Wal-Mart, and time for the company to stand up on behalf of a workforce that includes 1.2 million Americans.

Colton, Calif.-based Stater Bros. Markets has launched an in-store fundraising program to support the South Asia tsunami relief effort by the American Red Cross.

WASHINGTON -- Industry trade groups said yesterday they were pleased for the most part with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the recommendations for healthier eating that have been widely anticipated by the food industry in light of the attention placed on the country's obesity epidemic in the last several years.

Washington, D.C. ¿ In response to the Center for Science in the Public Interest¿s (CSPI) call earlier this week for restrictions on consumers¿ food choices, the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) labeled the consumer group¿s recommendations as unecessary.

CAMDEN, N.J. and WATERBURY, Vt. - At a time when commodity prices have increased and energy costs continue to soar, Campbell Soup Company and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. have become the latest CPG manufacturers to serve price increases to the market.

WASHINGTON - The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) yesterday endorsed legislation that would strengthen the criminal statute against trafficking in counterfeited goods.

MINNEAPOLIS - In a bid to shore up its third-party logistics capability, Supervalu, Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Total Logistics, Inc., a national provider of integrated third-party logistic services with calendar 2004 nine-month revenues of $253 million.