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With the US Asian population booming, ethnic food manufacturers increasingly are investing in new facilities to better serve that market.

Pineland Farms recently completed construction of a 13,000-sq.-ft. specialty cheese plant in New Gloucester, ME.

The US Department of Agriculture will soon transition to an ongoing Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance program that corresponds to the extremely low prevalence of the disease in the US.

The board of directors for the Food Products Association (FPA) and the executive committee of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) have agreed, in principle, to merge the two organizations effective January 1, 2007.

The restaurant industry says it is being singling out in the debate over obesity in a new FDA report that focuses on food consumed away from home as a key element of the problem. The report recommends that restaurants reduce portion sizes and provide consumers with more information about calories.

Bush Brothers & Co. is investing $38 million to expand its Chestnut Hill, TN, operation. The processing capacity of the current 200,000-sq.-ft. facility will be doubled and include a building addition of 40,000 sq. ft. for a new sterilizing system.

California and several other states that have mandated strict food product labeling requirements are taking their fight against federal uniform standards to the US Senate. The House of Representatives approved legislation in March to set one national standard, so food manufacturers don't have to adopt different packaging for products sold in different states.

Last month, ERP provider SAP hosted 15,000 customers, partners and journalists at its annual user conference, SAPHIRE, in Orlando, FL. Although the software has been known to be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to install, Richard Ogburn, SAP vice president for small- to medium-sized enterprise solution center reports that the company has been addressing this issue with a variety of implementation aids.

Restaurateur-turned-processor Charles Dale believes shelf-stable foodservice products are poised to replace frozen and refrigerated ingredients, and his new Stock-in-a-Box soup stocks will ride that wave into the nation's restaurants.

California and several other states that have mandated strict food product labeling requirements are taking their fight against federal uniform standards to the US Senate. The House of Representatives approved legislation in March to set one national standard, so food manufacturers don't have to adopt different packaging for products sold in different states.