Thank You!
The 2008 PFMA Annual Conference was held June 3-4, 2008 at the Harrisburg Hilton in Harrisburg, PA. Thank you to the attendees, speakers, vendors and honorees who made the event worthwhile. View the dinner presentation (34mb Quicktime movie) honoring military veterans working in the food industry.

Pump Topper Program Introduced to Battle Outrageous Credit Card Fees
The nation’s 115,000-plus convenience stores will communicate their outrage over devastating credit card fees via pump toppers that will educate consumers and Congress about the problem... (More)

UPDATE YOUR PFMA CONTACT INFO. FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION PURPOSES
PFMA is currently working on a VERY important project. We are working to update our membership database to include member fax numbers and email addresses. Having this information will allow PFMA staff to contact you in case of a foodborne illness outbreak or safety alert, pandemic update, travel advisory or to provide other crucial information that you will need in case of emergency... (More)

PFMA Members Can Find Out How to Start Their Own Composting Programs
Retailers were educated on how starting a composting program within their stores can save money at the Food Waste and Composting Workshop held on June 21 at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Find out more.. (More)

PFMA Loss Prevention Committee Communicates Major State-Wide Retail Crimes to PA Police Departments
The PFMA Loss Prevention (LP) Committee is comprised of fellow LP and security professionals who are interested in sharing crimes, ideas and increasing awareness amongst the countless law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania with the common goal of minimizing crimes against state retailers. Grocery and convenience store LP and security representatives from across the state first met in March 2002 to form the group... (More)

PA Department of Revenue Calls for Voluntary Payment of Use Tax
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has launched a campaign to increase business taxpayers' awareness of reporting and paying state Use Tax. Those businesses that do not disclose a Use Tax may be audited... (More)

Retailers Must Comply with the Pennsylvania Directory Act - Cigarettes are being Seized!
Under the Pennsylvania Directory Act, which was passed into law in December 2003, only cigarette brands that are registered on the Directory may be sold in Pennsylvania. The Directory is posted on the Attorney General’s web site... (More)

Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness - A Planning Resource For The Grocery Industry (FMI)
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Legislative Key Votes
Interested in seeing how your legislators voted on the hot issues? Click on the following “” file for an overview of the issues as well as vote tallies on how your state Senators and Representatives stood on issues such as the latest minimum wage vote, business tax cuts, and meth legislation.

Reminder: Food Employee Certification Act Civil Penalties for Non-Compliance
As of Monday, September 8, 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) will begin pursuing financial penalties against food establishments that fail to meet the requirements of the Food Employee Certification Act (“FEC Act”). The civil penalty amount will be $300 for first-time violators. (More)

Do You Need Recall Information?
Get updates on the latest recalls... (More)

Which agency to contact during a food tampering incident
Between February and March of 2008 there were a number of food tampering incidents that took place in Pennsylvania. In each case there was confusion as to which agency to contact to report an incident... (More)

Food Employee Certification Regulation Finalized
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture adopted Food Employee Certification final regulations on August 7, 2004. The regulation implements minimum food safety training requirements for food establishments within the state. (More)

Food Stamp Program Outreach Tool Kit Available for Retail Stores
FSP Outreach Tool Kits are available for download at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) web site... (More)

EBT Retailer Training Guides Available
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Interested In Becoming an Authorized Food Stamp Program Retailer?
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Submitting Multiple Vouchers; Changing Bank Info.
Retailers can now contact JP Morgan to submit multiple manual Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) voucher requests and change banking information. (More)

Damaged EBT Card/Retailer Letter
If you find that customers are repeatedly coming in with damaged EBT cards that do not scan properly, you can provide the customer a letter encouraging them to obtain a replacement. (More)

WIC Quarterly Prices
The Pennsylvania WIC Program has published its maximum allowable and competitive Price lists for the third calendar quarter of 2008: July 1, 2008 through September 30, 2008 for the various retailer types. Your stores must have the minimum inventory of WIC items priced at or below the Competitive Price levels... (More)

WIC ECR Vendor Specifications
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Pennsylvania State, County and Local Level Food Regulation Information

Visit our legislative/regulatory page for other hot issues.