If you’re a member of the Twitterati, look for FER at twitter.com/FERtweets. We’ll be tweeting our way through 2011 and at February’s NAFEM Show with observations on new technology, forecasts, news and trends.For up-to-the-minute news during The NAFEM Show, visit your Twitter account and adjust your settings to receive mobile messages from us. We’ll tell…

Burger King has lost the first round in a court battle to shut down a Miami franchisee who didn’t install new cash registers in time to meet the chain’s deadline. On Jan. 5, U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres denied Burger King’s efforts to obtain a temporary injunction against franchisee Al Cabrera that would have…

Hoping to minimize the confusion and uncertainty in pending federal regulations, the Food and Drug Administration indicated Jan. 21 that it will officially withdraw its draft guidance on menu labeling as it works on final rules. The FDA also told state and local authorities not to enforce the regulations until the final rule is published…

Just to clear the air, restaurants in California are safe under a Jan. 1 regulation that minimizes refrigerant leaks. The new state regulation, known as the Refrigerant Management Program, requires facilities using a single stationary non-residential refrigeration system with more than 50 lb. of a high global-warming-potential refrigerant to begin leak detection inspections, repair and…

At a time when there is some debate on how adjustments should be made to equipment– including point-of-sale systems–under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Restaurant Association is unveiling a timely new guide to buying POS equipment. The “8 Essential Elements of POS System Ownership” and its companion “POS Tool Kit” aim to educate…

Rising food and gasoline prices are continuing to worry operators. McDonald’s last week said it may have to raise some prices to cover the increase in commodity costs. At a time when customer demand is still weak, the higher costs are putting operators, reluctant to raise prices, in a bind. The Bureau of Labor Statistics…

The snow on the East Coast is goofing up everyone’s schedule. The National Restaurant Association will now release its annual forecast of the restaurant industry Feb. 1. Hudson Riehle, senior v.p. of the Research & Knowledge Group at NRA, will unveil the group’s annual forecast during a webinar for the news media at noon, EST,…

The NPD Group said the number of U.S. restaurants fell 5,551 in net terms, or less than 1%, for the year ending September 30, 2010, as the foodservice recession continued to impact operators, especially independents. The Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm also reported that restaurant traffic fell 1% for the year ending November. NPD’s highly…

Our friend Peter Backman, principal at Horizons for Success, the London-based research firm, sent us his review of foodservice in the United Kingdom in 2010 and the outlook for 2011. Last year wasn’t easy for foodservice operators in the U.K. either, though the market improved from a dreadful ’09. Backman mentioned the negative impact of…

The NPD Group has some interesting insights on how the increase in wholesale food prices may not only affect the actions of food retailers and foodservice operators, but also consumers. In a recent release citing its more than three decades of research into consumer eating behaviors, both at- and away-from-home, the research firm noted the…