National Retail Report - Dec. 28

Here is the link to the USDA's National Retail Report issued Dec. 28. I've also added a page of retail links to food page ads, a page that I will add to as I find more online food page ads.

Here is the USDA's summary of retail activity this week:

Advertised Prices for Fruits & Vegetables at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets 12/22 to 01/031,
Holiday celebrations continue to influence ads.
Retailers were wrapping up Christmas promotions this week and ads breaking midweek and later were focused heavily on the upcoming New Year’s celebrations. Traditionally popular foods thought to bring luck in the New Year such as pork, cabbage, and a variety of greens were promoted nationwide. Retailers also continued to highlight party items such as seafood platters, deli/bakery platters, and fruit and vegetable trays. The bulk (nearly 50 percent) of this week’s ads was concentrated on just 9 items. These top commodities included: avocados, limes, cherries, carrots, cabbage, grape tomatoes, pineapples, mangoes, and cantaloupes. Fruits continued to command the majority of ad space and accounted for more than 56 percent of the total ads. Notable increases in activity were seen on some tropical fruits (avocados, limes, lemons, and mangoes) while ads on staples such as apples and bananas declined drastically. Imported peaches, nectarines, and plums as well as Florida strawberries were beginning to show up more often in ads this week. Imported cherries continued to be featured heavily. Several items which had seen heavy increases in activity over the past few weeks for the holidays were beginning to decline. These included: asparagus, celery, pineapples, and sweet potatoes.

COOL Survey results by country

The U.S. Government Accountability Office in November apparently released results of a country of origin survey for various countries, and the link can be found here. Although part of this report appears dated, another element appears to be new. In any case, it might be worth a review. An explanation from GAO:

To determine country of origin practices of U.S. trading partners and update the 1998 Foreign Agricultural Service report, we surveyed the agriculture attachés for the key trading partner countries and the European Union that were surveyed in 1998 as well as other key trading partners, for a total of 57 countries and the European Union. The 57 countries account for about 94 percent of U.S. trading activity for food and animals. This information in these tables is based on responses to GAO’s survey.

Here is how France responded:

Country-of-Origin Labeling for Certain Foods - Survey Results (GAO-03-781SP)
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
6. Does your host country government require country of origin labeling at the retail level?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
7. Was the labeling implemented after 1998?
No
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
9. Does your host country government require country of origin labeling of domestically produced products?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
10. Does industry in your host country independently require country of origin labeling at the retail level?
No response
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
11. Was the industry labeling implemented after 1998?
No response
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
13. Are there routine inspections for country of origin labels at the retail level?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
14. How often is this product correctly labeled at the retail level?
Always or almost always
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
15. Are there enforcement actions or penalties associated with the country of origin labeling program inyour host country?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Pre-packaged for consumers)
16. How often are enforcement actions or penalties used when parties do not comply with country of originlabeling requirements?
Always or almost always
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
17. Does your host country government require country of origin labeling at the retail level?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
18. Was the labeling implemented after 1998?
No
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
20. Does your host country government require country of origin labeling of domestically produced products?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
21. Does industry in your host country independently require country of origin labeling at the retail level?
No response
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
22. Was the industry labeling implemented after 1998?
No response
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
24. Are there routine inspections for country of origin labels at the retail level?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
25. How often is this product correctly labeled at the retail level?
Always or almost always
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
26. Are there enforcement actions or penalties associated with the country of origin labeling program inyour host country?
Yes
France
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (loose in store bins)
27. How often are enforcement actions or penalties used when parties do not comply with country of originlabeling requirements?
Always or almost always