LOGISTICS BRIEFS

Public refrigerated warehousing giant VersaCold, Vancouver, B.C., held a lunch and ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the business' Tacoma, Wash., distribution center. Officials say the 196,600-sq.-ft. refrigerated warehouse serves Grocery Outlet, one of the area's largest retailers. Moreover, area demand is so strong that VersaCold said it is planning a 85,000-sq.-ft. expansion in the near future with potential addition of rail service. More than 180 people attended the ribbon-cutting event. They included Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Don Johnson, president of the Port of Tacoma Commission and VersaCold CEO Brent Sugden. VersaCold said it has 123 facilities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.



Government regulation of food transportation practices will be discussed at the meeting of the Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference (AFTC) in Phoenix on Oct. 18. Officials say the meeting is co-located with the American Trucking Association's 2010 Management Conference & Exhibition.

Addressing the subject will be Kristi L. Wolff of the Washington, D.C. law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. Officials say Wolff has substantial experience counseling clients on the regulatory implications of marketing practices for retail food, medical food, weight loss and medical device products. Prior to joining Kelley Drye, Wolff was associate general counsel at Nestle HealthCare Nutrition, Inc., a subsidiary of Nestle S.A..

Wolff's presentation will cover the history of food transportation regulation as well as the details of what is currently being proposed by FDA and being debated in Congress.