Specialty Food News presented by NASFT in affiliation with The Food Institute

The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc., 120 Wall Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10005 - www.specialtyfood.com

February 16, 2005

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The European Court of Justice will determine whether only Greece should be allowed to label its cheese feta. The Danish and German governments are challenging a European Commission ruling that said Greece should have sole rights to use the name, reported BBC News. Full Story

An analysis of previously uncharted chemical contents, mostly carbohydrates, in U.S.-consumed mushrooms shows that these fruity edible bodies of fungi could be tailored into dietary plans to help fill various nutritional needs. The group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that six mushroom varieties tested were rich in total dietary fibers, including those associated with cholesterol-lowering (chitin) and healthy hearts (beta-glutan). Full Story

For Immediate Release - News Direct From The Specialty Food Trade

Portland, OR-based Stash Tea has added three new decaffeinated flavors to its line of specialty teas. Newly available are Chocolate Hazelnut, Raspberry & White, and Lemon & White Decaf teas. Full Release

UPDATED GUIDELINES: To learn how to submit news releases to be considered for this section, please click here.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Michigan state Senate would let diners take home re-corked or capped wine, reported MLive.com. Full Story

A ban on importing Sichuan peppercorns, a Chinese spice, into the U.S. was lifted for heat-treated ones. Store package labels might not indicate that the peppercorns have been heat-treated, but importers must present documentation to that effect when the peppercorns are brought into this country, reported The Mercury News. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

In California, the wine grape average price per ton rose about 7% in 2004. In Modesto, prices were up 18% over 2003. However, prices in Napa and the Central Coast declined, reported The Modesto Bee. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

An employee-owned discount warehouse chain with 47 jumbo-sized supermarkets in five Western states, WinCo Foods Inc. claims it has figured out how to compete with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on prices and with nearly all players in the grocery business on wages. With 14 non-union stores in Central and Northern California, and expansion plans for Southern California, WinCo is drawing attention. The United Food and Commercial Workers union has asked shoppers to boycott the chain, according to The Los Angeles Times. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

The New Orleans, LA area grocery market is feeling pressure from both the high and low ends of the spectrum. Whole Foods has aggressively expanded there within the last three years. Wal-Mart has also added more supercenters at a time when Save-A-Lots and dollar stores have proliferated. Caught in the middle of the battle are the regional chains - Winn-Dixie and Sav-A-Center - and the locally owned independents, according to BizNewOrleans.com. Full Story

Jays Potato Chips is changing its potato chip packaging to tout that the products contain no trans fats. Jays Potato Chips are cooked in 100% corn oil, which naturally contains no trans fats. Meanwhile, Jays Potato Chips unveiled three new flavors in its "crispy ridged" chip line - roasted garlic and parmesan, jalapeno and cheddar, and garden herb ranch, reported Chicago Sun-Times. Full Story

How can you avoid common labeling mistakes? What labeling rule changes can you expect in the future? What is the consumer perception of food labeling?

Learn the basics of food labeling as well as what to expect in 2005 at a one-day Food Labeling Seminar presented by The Food Institute, featuring Richard Manney of FDA and Robert Hahn, Esq. of Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C. Topics to be discussed include Country of Origin Labeling, Possible Changes to Nutrition Facts and Trans Fat Labeling. The Hartman Group will provide a look at Food Labeling from a Consumer Prospective. To find out more, click here.

Diet soft drinks have steadily grown in popularity among men. Indeed, 46% of Diet Coke drinkers are male, according to Coke's own statistics. Pepsi One, which is being reformulated with the sweetener Splenda, will be marketed to men as tasting more like regular Pepsi, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Some 83% of adults surveyed say parents not paying attention, rather than marketing by the food industry, is primarily responsible for children's weight problems, according to the latest Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive health-care poll of 2,387 adults, of whom 481 are parents. Most American adults (83%) also believe schools need to do a better job of limiting children's access to unhealthy foods, and a smaller majority feel the government should take legal action against companies that mislead parents and children about the nutritional value of the foods they market, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)

Researchers in Japan discovered that coffee may help prevent the most common type of liver cancer. People who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee, according to a study of more than 90,000 Japanese. The protective effect occurred in people who drank one to two cups a day and increased at three to four cups, reported The Seattle Times. Full Story