ARLINGTON, VA — July 30, 2010 — The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) released the following statement today from President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie G. Sarasin regarding comments made this week by Visa Executive Chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders:

“We were interested to hear Visa Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Saunders announce Wednesday that the Department of Justice is considering filing a civil lawsuit challenging rules prohibiting surcharging on credit and differential discounts between networks. This is yet another positive development for supermarket retailers and their customers. FMI has been trying for years to get some kind of relief from these oppressive swipe fees. Both of these reforms have also been introduced in Congress in legislation filed by Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) and are also the subject of litigation filed in 2005 by a number of retailers against Visa and MasterCard.”