Food and food handlers have been linked to a number of Norovirus outbreaks over the past decades. In fact, food handlers infected with Norovirus are responsible for 70% of reported Norovirus outbreaks from contaminated food (CDC).

Here is what we do know; on its current trajectory U.S. payment fraud is expected to reach a whopping $14.41 billion by 2025, and as a country we are lagging behind our competitors. American consumers, retailers, financial institutions and our economy all deserve better. With that in mind, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) was joined by other retail trade associations, debit processing networks and individual retailers to launch the Secure Payments Partnership (SPP), designed to advance sound policies that drive state-of-the-art technologies, competition, and collaboration to ensure the U.S. payments system becomes the global gold standard.

The well-established companies know why they need to be on constant lookout for the next winning product: Consumer tastes and interests are quickly shifting towards higher quality, more unique and in some cases artisanal food solutions; new categories, like natural and organic foods, are surging; fresh versions of highly processed packaged foods are getting traction; while traditional CPGs struggle to keep up with changing consumer demands. But why the desire to search so far afield for emerging brands rather than take their development in-house?

Have you ever felt like you missed out on the party? If you haven’t been participating in National Family Meals Month™ in September, a growing movement in food retail, you have been missing the party!