In what should be a huge boost to the sales of corn-based resin packaging offered by NatureWorks PLA, Wal-Mart has announced plans to begin using some petroleum-free packaging product on Nov. 1, saving the equivalent of 800,000 gallons of gasoline over the next year.

The Dispute Resolution Corp., based in Ottawa, ON, has added a transportation membership category and is now accepting membership applications from carriers and transportation intermediaries, the agency announced in a statement.

WASHINGTON -- Twenty-nine cherry companies received warning letters from the Food & Drug Administration in October telling them to stop making unsupported claims about the powers of cherries to prevent and cure diseases on product labels and on their web sites.

The 29 companies that received the warnings were marketing dried fruit, fruit juice and juice concentrate as a means for treating or preventing of a variety of diseases, including cancer, heart disease and arthritis.

The Cape Ann Food Cooperative in Gloucester, MA, shut its doors after 31 years in business.

The retail end of the co-op's operations served 860 households in the Cape Ann area, offering natural and organic foods to its arts community clientele.

"The bottom line is we had been losing money - $154,000 - over the last 10 years," said Judy Parisella, interim general manager of the co-op. The membership voted to keep the co-op going despite the losses, but "that did not translate into green," she said.

The Defense Commissary Agency has scheduled an industry roundtable Nov. 16 at the Airport Marriott in Atlanta to discuss the implementation of its Fresh Fruit & Vegetable program.

The roundtable is the result of the success of a recent test to see if a produce business model, based upon commercial practices, could reduce costs to DeCA -- resulting in lower prices and better quality for customers.

If one were to ask the average grocery store shopper for his or her opinions about watermelon, the answer would probably relate to it being a tasty summertime treat.

The Sundia Corp. aims to capitalize on what it sees as a juicy opportunity to change consumers' ideas about watermelons.