FTC May Block Whole Foods
From Buying Wild Oats

When the Whole Foods acquisition of Wild Oats was announced, we analyzed the anti-trust implications: Probably the most common question the Pundit has been asked is whether anti-trust authorities will allow the acquisition. They should, but much depends on how you define “the competition.” If you believe there is a separate category of, say, “health […]

From The Frying Pan Into The Fire —
Wal-Mart Finds Another Way To
Alienate Suppliers

Ace PACA lawyer Larry Meuers reports in his newsletter what some of his clients are telling him about Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Bentonville, Arkansas): We have received calls from clients that an outside auditing firm has been auditing Wal-Mart produce files to determine whether the prices charged and paid by Wal-Mart comport with the contractual […]

Pundit’s Mailbag — Pesticides And Cancer

Our piece Pesticides Keep Pestering Us quoted a column in PRODUCE BUSINESS, a Pundit sister publication, that dealt with pesticides from a European perspective. Written by Marc DeNaeyer, Managing Partner, TROFI in The Netherlands, the piece focused on sterner standards now being imposed by continental retailers — especially German discounters who, previously, did not have […]

School Nutrition Success Cries For Research

Our piece entitled Getting Kids To Choose Healthy Snacks detailed the interaction of two generations of the Hunt family (as in Grant Hunt of the Grant J. Hunt Company and his parents Jim and Elizabeth Hunt), with issues surrounding getting children to eat fresh produce. It brought a note from a longtime industry leader: Your […]

Ocean Spray’s Special Treatment Of HEB

We’ve run several pieces now on the legal dispute that is ongoing between Jim and Theresa Nolan, their company The Nolan Network and Ocean Spray, most recently right here. A great deal of focus on the dispute has regarded warehouse club stores and the claim that Ocean Spray provided Costco with preferential pricing . It […]

Another Unnecessary Beef Recall

Supervalu recalled some ground beef that was for sale in its Albertsons and Save-A-Lot chains due to E. coli 0157:H7 contamination. This recall stemmed from a recall by United Food Group of 75,000 pounds of ground beef. In addition to the Supervalu chains, the meat had been sold to Grocery Outlet, Fry’s, Save-Mart, Smart and […]

Pundit’s Mailbag — Robinson-Patman
Attorney Weighs In On Ocean Spray

We’ve written quite a bit in regard to the dispute between Jim and Theresa Nolan and The Nolan Network with Ocean Spray. The coverage began with an article in Pundit sister publication, PRODUCE BUSINESS, entitled Special Report: Ocean Spray Sued By Longtime Associates. This was followed by our first piece in the Pundit, which we […]

Pundit’s Pulse Of The Industry:
Jack T. Baillie’s John Baillie

First we ran pesticide Spraying Gets More Attention and that was followed by Pundit’s Mailbag — Green Acres Is The Place To Be?!? These pieces were both focused on pesticides, not so much as an issue on produce but an issue related to the movement of people to rural areas and the intersections between people […]

Richard Branson Chimes In On Food Miles

As we have warned in numerous pieces, such as Carbon Footprinting Gone Wild!, the movement toward promoting “food miles” as something retailers and consumers are supposed to take into account in purchasing is not merely unlikely to achieve any environmental benefit but, in fact, could cause harms of all different types. Sir Richard Branson, whose […]

Wal-Mart’s ‘Opportunity Buy’ Policy
Reveals Much About The Company

For those who need a review of our latest coverage of Wal-Mart and its changing relationship with vendors, here’s a brief roundup of articles published since March: We began by addressing the change from DC assignments to dollar-value assignments, plus looked at the growth of “opportunity buys” in our piece Wal-Mart Continues To Change Its […]