Twelve member management professionals recently were awarded full scholarships to the 2014 University of Industrial Distribution Program. The scholarships, awarded by the Foodservice Equipment Distributor’s Association’s Educational Foundation, will help underwrite the winners’ expenses for the UID Program March 9-12 at the JW Marriott Indianapolis Hotel. The scholarship winners are:Isaac Rodriguez, Ace Mart Restaurant SupplyTerry…

In a deal which shows the wide arc and manufacturing diversity of the foodservice equipment industry, Henny Penny—which produces thousands of pieces of foodservice equipment for a handful of global foodservice chains—is acquiring the more specialized Wood Stone Corp., which makes a handful of equipment for thousands of restaurants. The transaction, announced Dec. 16, unites…

Few, if any, restaurants in the U.S. still offer a smoking section. Some countries, including the world’s most populous one, have no such distinction. The Chinese government has released a draft of anti-tobacco regulations that, for the first time, would ban smoking in all indoor public places. Additionally, cigarette packages would have to prominently feature…

Now that the U.S. has gone to uniform menu-labeling regulations—final regulations were announced last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—there are plans elsewhere for similar statutes. A proposal just announced by the Ontario government to require calorie posting in restaurants is getting a mixed reception as Canadian operators watched the long process and…

Shipping the equipment that keeps food cold or frozen just got a lot more expensive. Citing freight liability concerns, the Commodity Classification Standards Board (CCSB), an autonomous board under the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, has made a major change to the National Motor Freight Classifications covering everything from high chairs to commercial refrigeration. Beginning…

On Nov. 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized two rules requiring that calorie information be listed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, retail food operations, and vending machines to provide consumers with more nutritional information about the foods they eat outside of the home. The final menu-labeling rule applies to restaurants…

The Affordable Care Act mandates employers with 100 or more full-time-equivalent employees to offer healthcare coverage to full-time employees in 2015. While foodservice operators and other businesses with 50-99 full-time employees have until 2016 to offer coverage, they must start tracking healthcare-coverage-related employee data in January 2015 for reports that must be submitted to the…

Citing lengthier than expected talks with antitrust regulators, the megamerger between the nation’s two largest broadline distributors is taking a bit longer than anticipated. When Sysco Corp. announced its planned acquisition of US Foods last December, the Houston company expected the deal to close by the end of September 2014, then pushed it to the…

Election Day last week saw five states approve ballot measures that will gradually raise the minimum wage. Twenty-five other states have passed similar laws in recent years. Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota supported proposals to raise wages for their lowest-paid workers; Illinois approved a non-binding measure, which won’t immediately change the current…

While San Francisco voters approved that hike in the minimum wage to $15 by 2018, they rejected a 2-cent tax on sugary drinks. Not so in neighboring Berkeley, Calif., which became the first American city to pass a law taxing sugary drinks, including sodas. More than three-quarters of the votes cast were in favor of…