By a vote of 73 to 25 on Tuesday, the Senate passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, which aims to overhaul the nation’s food safety system, the New York Times reported. The law, which gives increased powers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), comes after instances of tainted foods, including peanut butter and spinach,…
Monitoring Product Safety
On May 24, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Safety Reporting Portal (SRP) Web site, making it easier for concerned citizens and merchants alike to submit reports concerning FDA regulated products. SRP allows even customers to submit a safety report related to foods, drugs and…
Managing Tobacco’s Four Tier War
A Closer Look at Who’s Trading Down According to Mintel International, 80% of smokers polled said it’s worthwhile to have a quality cigarette, which is contributing to sales of premium cigarettes. Other factors influencing sales include: • 51% of smokers have one preferred brand they always like to buy. • Less than 2% of smokers…
FDA Issues Final Rules On Tobacco
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its final rules regarding the sale of tobacco. Retailers will need to be in compliance with these rules, which restrict the sale, distribution and use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, by June 22. The new rules include provisions that: •Prohibit sales of cigarette packages with fewer than…
New Regulations on Tobacco from the FDA
Over the past six months since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began wielding its new powers to regulate cigarettes, smokeless and roll-your-own tobacco, the implementation of the law has been anything but smooth. Even though Dr. Lawrence Deyton, the FDA’s new head of the Center for Tobacco Products, announced several times during “Listening…
Lessons Learned from Challenging Year
There’s no doubt that 2009 will go down as one of the most challenging years ever for the convenience store and petroleum industry. Combined with the poor economy that plagued marketers all year, credit card fees and tobacco regulations added fuel to a fire that, quite honestly, was already burning out of control. For this…
FDA Looks at Future of Tobacco Products
Confusion Reigns Supreme C-store operators aren’t the only ones left scratching their heads by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) first foray into tobacco regulation.During the FDA’s teleconference, Catherine Lorraine, a lawyer for the administration, said, “I just want to draw your attention to the portion of the definition of a cigarette, which specifically refers…
FDA Clarifies Tobacco Ban
Flavored products including cigarettes, RYO and loose tobaccos and rolling papers are no longer legal in U.S. stores; administration said it would look at “little cigars” and similar products on a “case-by-case basis.” The smoking lamp on the majority of flavored tobacco products sold in convenience stores has been extinguished, but the ruling has ignited…
What’s in Store in the Humidor
As if the turbulent economy, rising state taxes and local anti-smoking regulations hadn’t rendered the retail cigar landscape dangerous enough, enter the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which wants to significantly reshape that landscape, but so far hasn’t told anyone—most notably the retailers that will be selling the products—how. Some background: The law granting…
Opportunities Abound
The NACS Show is my annual reminder of just how much innovation exists among the many talented retailers and suppliers I communicate with every day. I expect this year’s show—amazingly the 14th of my career—to be one of the most interesting I’ve ever attended. While the event has so much to offer, a black cloud…