Food Industry FAQ's

There are a series of directories which contain listings of all chain and single unit grocery stores, convenience stores and wholesalers. These directories can be purchased through Chain Store Information Service (1-800-778-9794). The primary directory for chain supermarkets is Supermarket, Grocery & Convenience Store Chains. http://www.csgis.com 

Market share information can be obtained from the Grocery Distribution Analysis and Guide, published by Metro Market Studies (520-760-0594). http://www.metromarketstudies.com/

Please see information on the GS1 US Web site at this link: http://www.gs1us.org/get-started

For general guidelines on how long to keep food items, please visit our FoodKeeper or download the mobile app. 

For additional questions, you can contact:

• United States Department of Agriculture Meat & Poultry Hotline
  202-720-3333, 1-800-535-4555
• Food & Drug Administration Seafood Hotline
  1-888-SAFEFOOD or 1-888-723-3663 http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/seafood1.html

Supermarkets began scanning in 1974. The first item scanned in a commercial environment was a pack of Wrigley chewing gum in Marsh Supermarkets on June 26, 1974. For information on the history of the scanning and bar codes, please seeRevolution at the Checkout Counter: The Explosion of the Bar Code, by Stephen A. Brown, Harvard University Press (1-617-495-2480). 

While the Food Marketing Institute has not published any research that will assist you, here are some resources which may be helpful to you:

Websites:

Penn State Food Entrepreneur Resources

University of Georgia, National Center for Home Food Preservation

University of Nebraska Food Processing Center, Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program

Please note, this list of resources is for informational purposes only, and does not imply FMI endorsement.

While Piggly Wiggly was the first self-service store opened in 1916, the first supermarket to open was King Kullen Grocery Company in New York in 1930.