New Jersey Food Council
30 West Lafayette St., Trenton, NJ 08608
Phone: 609/392-8899
Fax: 609/396-6571
Email: njfc@njfoodcouncil.com

Attorney General Stuart Rabner Expected to be Appointed to Lead State Supreme Court

Rumors are circulating the State House that State Attorney General Stuart Rabner will be nominated by Governor Corzine for the position of Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Attorney General Rabner is highly respected by legislative leaders of both parties and is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate.  

Rabner will be replacing current Chief Justice James Zazzali, who is required to step down, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in October. It is expected that Anne Milgram, First Assistant Attorney General, will replace Rabner as Attorney General.

NJFC Meet's with Governor's Office

This week, NJFC President Linda Doherty met with the Governor's Office of Economic Growth officials as part of a business roundtable discussion. NJFC used the opportunity to discuss energy aggregation, agriculture, and labor issues, particularly Paid Family Leave.  

NJFC expressed the industry's united opposition to Paid Family Leave and continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the business community against this detrimental legislative proposal.   Proposals such as Paid Family Leave should be negotiated between employees and employers at the bargaining table; not legislated. Moreover, Paid Family Leave will further reinforce New Jersey's reputation as a hostile environment for business and will stifle economic growth and prosperity in the State.

NJFC Meets with BPU President Jeanne Fox

Earlier this week, the New Jersey Food Council met with BPU President Jeanne Fox to discuss State energy issues.

At the meeting NJFC discussed aggregation opportunities, the State Energy Master Plan and the high cost of energy currently which is squeezing the food industry in New Jersey. The BPU expressed their commitment to embrace the business community's concerns regarding skyrocketing energy costs and will partner with business to find solutions to bring down costs.

Also this week, the NJFC Energy Working Group met at the BPU offices in Newark with Commissioner Butler, the Office of Energy Ombudsman and NJFC energy consultants Energy Procurement Partners to discuss energy efficiency opportunities and programs avaiable to the membership. NJFC will continue to explore these opportunities, the availabiity of energy aggregation and assemble food retailers "Best Pratice Guidelines" for energy efficiency programs. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Office of the Energy Ombudsman.

Menu Labeling Legislation on Senate Agenda for Thursday

Next week, S-2264 which would require chain restaurants to provide certain nutrition information for food or beverage items offered for sale will be considered by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee.

Under the provisions of the bill, a retail food establishment shall list in a clear and conspicuous manner adjacent to each food or beverage item on a standard printed menu, the total number of calories, grams of saturated and trans fat, grams of carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium, per serving, as usually prepared and offered for sale.

A retail food establishment using a menu board system or similar signage shall only be required to list caloric information adjacent to each food or beverage item on the board or sign, but information on fat, carbohydrate and sodium content shall be made available to a customer upon request.

NJFC has met with Senator Buono and discussed our opposition to this bill. The sponsor indicated that she modeled her legislation after recently enacted NYC regulations which we pointed out do not cover grocery or convenience stores. As a result, we asked the Senator to consider amendatory language that would exempt the grocery and convenience stores; she is currently reviewing our proposal.

Have You Registered for the NJFC Annual Golf Outing?

The NJFC Annual Golf Outing will be held on July 23, 2007 at the Suburban Golf Club in Union, New Jersey.  

The Annual Event features 18 holes of spectacular golf with a choice of A.M. or P.M. shot-gun starts and provides networking opportunities with top New Jersey Food industry executives. A continental breakfast will be served along with a delicious BBQ luncheon overlooking the beautiful course. The event will close with an open bar cocktail reception with hearty carving stations, mouthwatering hors d'oeuvres, international foods and hot dishes. Also featured will be golf awards, spectacular door prices and raffles for participants.

Sponsorship opportunities, goody bag donations and tee signs are still available. Please call NJFC at (609) 392-8899 to register today!

Photos Galore

Don't forget to check out our library page to view photographs from our events.