Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
MCDONALD'S SPEECH
BY PHILIP FINE
FACED with its first quarterly loss since the company went public in 1965, McDonald’s is planning some changes to its restaurants. Chief executive James R. Cantalupo said in a meeting with analysts in New York that the company plans to reduce its debt by US$300 million to US$700 million this year by expanding its more healthful options increasing efficiency and appealing to 18-29 year olds.…
KFC CHICKEN
BY PHILIP FINE
KFC, America’s largest chicken chain, says it will be changing some slaughter practices in order treat its chickens more humanely. The Louisville, Kentucky-based company said that it has adopted eight guidelines for farmers that address breeding, hatching and raising of poultry, including adequate growth space and routine inspections of facilities.…
BIO-DIESEL PLANT
BY PHILIP FINE
A TORONTO, Canada, company has developed a bolt-on pilot food oil processing plant that can allow food businesses to convert waste oil and grease into sellable bio-diesel. Biox Corp.’s technique uses low-grade food oils to make non-toxic, sulphur-free biodiesel and was developed by University of Toronto Professor David Boocock.…
MINNESOTA TERRORISM
BY PHILIP FINE
INSURERS in the American state of Minnesota will not have to cover fire-related
losses that result from acts of terrorism. Minnesota has become the third US state to allow insurers to exclude fire damage for policy-holders who have not taken advantage of special federally mandated terrorism insurance.…
US TAX FRAUD
BY PHILIP FINE
AMERICAN companies that commit accounting fraud are willing to pay millions of dollars in additional income taxes on phoney earnings, according to a University of Michigan Business School study.
The paper examined a sample of firms accused of accounting fraud by the SEC from 1996 to 2002, who had re-filed their accounts after answering such charges, enabling the researchers to compare their fake return with an accurate one.…
USA FOOD RULES
BY PHILIP FINE
THE UNITED States needs to better link its federal and state food safety rules, says a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Washington’s official think-tank. It also recommends integrating information on pathogens that US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration gather through food sampling, with public health agencies’ surveillance data on food-borne diseases.…
MICROBIOLOGISTS STUDY
BY PHILIP FINE
TEAMS of microbiologists have concluded that it is not just unsafe to swim in sewage infiltrated waters, but that the amount of sickness caused by such pollution is actually far more predictable than previously thought. The findings have prompted them to call for global health-based legislation on the quality of the world’s bathing waters.…
USA BACTERIAL DISEASES
BY PHILIP FINE
SEVERAL major bacterial food-borne illnesses seem to be on the decline in the United States, according to a recent survey of clinical laboratories that test for infection. In their annual release of data, the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed labs that serve 13 per cent of the American population and found that sustained progress is being made in meeting the national health objectives for illnesses caused by listeria and campylobacter, when comparing 2002 data with 1996-2001 numbers.…
BOYER FEUD
BY PHILIP FINE
AMERICAN confectioner Boyer, maker of the popular Mallo Cup, has ceased production. Boyer was founded during the Depression – when William and R.J. "Bob" Boyer sold sweets door to door to feed their family – and was bought by the Forgione family 20 years ago.…
DOUBLEMINT
BY PHILIP FINE
DOUBLEMINT chewing gum seems to have lost its flavour amongst European Union legal officials. Manufacturer Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. was hoping to trademark the
popular brand across the European Union but European Court of Justice Advocate General Francis Jacobs has advised that the word combination "Doublemint" lacks a required imaginative element to merit trademark protection.…