If the Chinese government is effective in its crackdown during its latest food-safety scandal, there might be a huge market there for grease traps, disposers and waste-hauling truck services. Recycled food oil—known in China as “gutter oil” because it is scooped up from sewage drains or collected at restaurant back doors—is apparently being used widely…

For those keeping track of American frontiers with skylines still clear of fast-food chain signage, you can add Sister Bay, Wis., to the list. The Door County village known for its quaint ambience and summer residents has long maintained a moratorium on fast-food restaurants. A recent request to open a Subway outlet there rallied a…

The world’s largest democracy is finding no interest among foodservice operators for its voluntary inspection and accreditation program.   The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India has not had a single eatery respond to its offer for accreditation through Quality Control of India, which has the mandate to decide standards, inspect and accredit restaurants,…

Experience and the bottom line tell you that government decisions and local legislation touch every aspect of a foodservice operation. So it’s critical for operators and suppliers to understand issues which can range from traceability in food safety to the impact of sodium limits. The National Restaurant Association is simplifying it all with a virtual…

A child nutrition bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives June 10 would target childhood obesity, hunger and school food-safety practices. The legislation requests an additional $8 billion in funding over the next 10 years to augment existing child-nutrition programs and mandates that the U.S. Department of Agriculture adopt strict nutritional standards for so-called…

Designing, building and opening a restaurant just got a lot easier in Los Angeles, where revised regulations are reducing bureaucratic holdups. The new rules, put in place last week, reduce contradictory regulations among the city agencies overseeing the building trades involved—including mechanical, architectural, health, grease control, and electrical. The overlapping regulations led to delays of…

Foodservice Equipment Reports will host a new Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium next year, tailoring a two-day program covering the latest technological advances in foodservice equipment, supplies and facilities specifically for noncommercial operators across all thesegments. MUFES for Noncommercial Operators, MUFES/NCO ’11, will be held June 13-15, 2011, at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas.…

Improved sales of foodservice equipment and supplies during the second half of 2010 and a more positive outlook for operator sales next year has led Foodservice Equipment Reports to revise upward its forecasts for the E&S market in both years. The magazine now expects E&S sales at the manufacturer level to fall a more moderate…

Blended sales of seven large publicly traded foodservice equipment and supplies companies rose 6.7% in the third quarter versus the third quarter in 2009. It was the second consecutive quarter of growth following six quarters of falling blended sales. The sales rebound was once again led by the more chain- oriented conglomerates, Manitowoc Foodservice and…

The Restaurant Performance Index maintained by the National Restaurant Association rose for the third month in a row in October, stayed above the 100 level that signals market expansion for the second consecutive month and reached its highest level since September 2007. In other words, it was a pretty good month for the restaurant industry…