Retail & FoodService

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to purchase more than 20 million pounds of locally grown produce in its restaurants this year, up from its 2013 goal of 15 million pounds. As the only national restaurant company with a significant commitment to serving local produce on a large scale, Chipotle has steadily increased its locally sourced produce supply since beginning the program in 2008. …

Cargill is introducing a soybean oil made from identity-preserved (IdP), conventionally-bred (non-GM) soybeans for customers interested in exploring a non-GMO claim on their product label. The oil is refined in Cargill's Des Moines, Iowa, plant in a process certified by SGS, a global inspection, verification, testing and certification company. …

Trellis Earth Products, Inc., a leading maker of bioplastic food service disposables, will pay $2.6 million for substantially all of Cereplast's assets including production equipment, patents, inventory, and trademarks, plus pay certain contract cure costs, as part of Cereplast's Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings. United States Bankruptcy Judge Basil H. Lorch III entered the sale order today for the assets of Cereplast, including its former Seymour bioplastics factory. …

A number of Farm Fresh stores in Hampton Roads will see their first renovations in more than a decade this year, said company President Micky Nye. …

Grocer Sobeys Inc. is set to announce on Thursday that it is closing underperforming stores and cutting jobs following its $5.8-billion acquisition of rival Safeway Canada as it looks for savings in an intensifying food fight. …