The FDA has released the sanitary transportation final rule, the last rule required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The rule was submitted to the Federal Register for publication last Friday, and posted on the FDA’s website yesterday. The rule creates requirements for shippers, loaders, carriers (including motor and rail), and receivers who are involved with transporting human and animal foods. A fact sheet produced by FDA can be found HERE,

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Monday, April 4, 2016   A Hannaford Supermarkets program designed to help both the environment and local people in need has surpassed two significant milestones: more than 500,000 meals provided to fight hunger and $100,000 raised to support local community groups, according to a news release from the grocery store chain.

In recognition of these accomplishments, Hannaford will donate $2 to a local charity for every Hannaford Helps bag and contribute the equivalent of two nutritious meals for each Fight Hunger bag purchased in April — a 100 percent match of the standard donations.

Hannaford’s cause-related shopping bag program has two parts:

• Fight Hunger bags — Hannaford contributes enough money to buy one meal to a food bank in our region when someone buys one of these reusable brown-and-yellow bags. The program began 22 months ago and has funded more than 566,000 meals at local food pantries, meals programs and food banks so far.

• Hannaford Helps bags — the grocer donates $1 to a nearby nonprofit group, chosen by that customer’s local supermarket, for every one of these blue bags sold. The initiative started five months ago and has raised more than $100,000 in donations for 561 community groups.

Causes benefiting from the Hannaford bag program in Maine include organizations as diverse as the Good Shepherd Food Bank, youth sports, disability-support agencies, community centers, arts organizations, humane societies, children’s programs and dozens of other local groups.

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