Dairy Farmers of America Buys Guida's Milk & Ice Cream

Guida's Milk & Ice Cream, of New Britain, Conn., a New England family owned dairy with roots dating back to 1932, has been purchased by Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) of Kansas City, Mo., for an undisclosed price.

DFA is a farmer owned milk marketing cooperative which has nearly 16,0000 farmer owners. Guida's Milk is a New England processor of fluid milk, cream, ice cream mixes, fruit juices drinks, water and a variety of other dairy products.

There are no company changes planned. The company's current management remains and everyone keeps their jobs. "Nothing really has changed. It is business as usual," said Jim Guida, executive vice president.

Mr. Guida added the sale enables the company to grow and have more financial capital. "We are financially strong. It isn’t that we had to sell the company. We saw it as a prudent move. We wanted to maintain our identity," he said. Mr. Guida explained some of the other reasons for the sale: the Guida family is getting older, some may retire, and the competition is getting tougher.

Mr. Guida added that DFA is not a publicly traded company but a farmer's cooperative. "In a sense we are going back to our roots," he said.

This is DFA's first acquisition in New England and may not be the last, said Mr. Guida. DFA has been on a spurt of growth purchasing other dairies across the country.

DFA spokesperson Kristi Dale said, "We are pleased to announce that Guida’s Milk has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. Guida’s Milk's long-standing relationships with customers and comprehensive portfolio of innovative, quality dairy products make it a natural fit with DFA's commercial dairy businesses and brands portfolio. Since its formation in 1998, DFA has operated as a milk marketing cooperative and dairy foods processor focused on maximizing returns to its dairy farmer owners. The acquisition of Guida's Milk aligns with this mission."

Weis Markets To Purchase Three Genuardi Locations

Weis Markets, of Sunbury Pa., plans to purchase three Genuardi's locations from Safeway Inc. The stores are located at: 200 Ridge Pike in Conshohocken, 13 Old Dublin Pike in Doylestown and 25 West Germantown Pike in Norristown.

The stores will continue to operate as Genuardi's prior to the completion of the sale. "We're extremely pleased to be adding these stores to our store base," said David Hepfinger, Weis Markets' president and chief executive officer. "We look forward to serving these communities as the lead local merchant as we have in 33 counties throughout Central, Eastern and Northeastern Pennsylvania. We will also be reaching out to the associates of these stores to discuss employment with our company."

Retail Meat Poster Requirement Takes Effect March 1

According to the Food Marketing Institute, effective March 1, the USDA is requiring all retailers except small business owners to provide nutrition information to consumers for the major muscle cuts of meat and poultry. This information may either be placed in a label directly on the product or made available at the point of purchase. A pamphlet or brochure with the same information also satisfies the requirement. Ground meat and poultry is also required to have nutrition labeling under the new rule.

Nutrition information for ground products must be labeled directly on the package unlike the flexible requirement for muscle cuts. Small businesses are exempt from labeling certain ground products. To qualify for the small business exemption a business must have 500 or fewer employees.

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