By: David Fikes, Vice President, Consumer/Community Affairs and Communication, Food Marketing Institute
As we jump into the New Year, let’s first remember 10 important resources FMI brought food retailers in 2014:
- U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2014 – This report provides an analysis of the attitudes and behaviors of American consumers as they relate to and impact the food retail industry.
- The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2014 - This annual state of the industry report provides an analysis of financial performance, operational and store-level benchmarks as well as strategic and competitive insights.
- Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Question Portal - Submit your FSMA-related questions via the web form. FMI will respond and post the answers on our site. Additional background and links to the proposed rules are also available.
- Menu Labeling Question Portal - Submit questions on the menu labeling final rule to help FMI account for questions about all the various situations throughout the industry to help ease the burden and confusion to comply with the regulation. We will provide answers and additional resources to field your questions and post the responses on our site.
- New SafeMark Publications – These food safety training tools have been updated with recommendations from the 2013 FDA Food Code
- Produce Safety Best Practices Guide for Retailers - This step-based program serves as a tool for both food safety and non-food safety retail employees focusing on building existing food safety programs.
- Voice of Food Retail Blog – Your sources for in-depth analysis of food retail priority issues and emerging trends.
- Crisis Communications Manual – FMI Member Only Resource - This resource you better prepare, respond to and recover from a communications crisis. The manual streamline processes and sheds new light on how companies can integrate social media into their crisis communications plans.
- GMO Communications Toolkit for Retailers – FMI Member Only Resource - Built to aid retailers creating policy statements and educating at store-level, this site brings together industry research and offers department specific talking points.
- Ebola Virus Information – FMI Member Only Resource - Resources for food retailers, general information and a form for submitting questions available.