Supermarket History

In the early days of retailing, all products generally were fetched by an assistant from shelves behind the merchant's counter while customers waited in front of the counter and indicated the items they wanted. Also, most foods and merchandise did not come in the individually wrapped consumer-size packages that we take for granted today, so an assistant had to measure out and wrap the precise amount desired by the consumer. These practices were by nature very labor-intensive and therefore also quite expensive. The shopping process was slow, as the number of customers who could be attended to at one time was limited by the number of clerks employed in the store.

The concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by American entrepreneur Clarence Saunders and his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1916. Saunders was awarded a number of patents for the ideas he incorporated into his stores[1][2][3][4]. The stores were a financial success and Saunders began to offer franchises. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) was another successful early grocery store chain in Canada and the United States, and became common in North American cities in the 1920s. The general trend in retail since then has been to stock shelves at night so that customers, the following day, can obtain their own goods and bring them to the front of the store to pay for them. Although there is a higher risk of shoplifting, the costs of appropriate security measures ideally will be outweighed by the increased economies of scale and reduced labor costs.

Early self-service grocery stores did not sell fresh meats or produce. Combination stores that sold perishable items were developed in the 1920s.[5]

According to the Smithsonian Institution, the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by a former Kroger employee, Michael J. Cullen, on August 4, 1930, inside a 6,000 square foot (560 m²) former garage in Jamaica, Queens in New York City.[6] The store, King Kullen, (inspired by the fictional character King Kong), operated under the slogan "Pile it high. Sell it low." At the time of Cullen's death in 1941, there were seventeen King Kullen stores in operation.

Other established American grocery chains in the 1930s, such as Kroger and Safeway, at first resisted Cullen's idea, but eventually were forced to build their own supermarkets as the economy sank into the Great Depression and consumers became price-sensitive at a level never experienced before.[7] Kroger took the idea one step further and pioneered the first supermarket surrounded on all four sides by a parking lot.

Supermarkets proliferated across Canada and the United States with the growth of suburban development after World War II. Most North American supermarkets are located in suburban strip malls as an anchor store along with other, smaller retailers. They are generally regional rather than national in their company branding. Kroger is perhaps the most nationally oriented supermarket chain in the United States but it has preserved most of its regional brands, including Ralphs, City Market and King Soopers.

In Canada the largest such chain is Loblaw, which operates stores under a variety of regional names, including Fortinos, Zehrs and the largest Loblaws (named after the company itself). Sobeys is Canada's second largest supermarket with locations across the country, operating under many banners (Sobeys IGA in Quebec). Today, supermarkets are found around the world in dozens of countries.

In the 1950s supermarkets frequently issued trading stamps as incentives to customers. Today, most chains issue store-specific "membership cards," "club cards," or "loyalty cards". These typically enable the card holder to receive special members-only discounts on certain items when the credit card-like device is scanned at check-out.

Traditional supermarkets in many countries face intense competition from discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, Asda in the UK, and Zellers in Canada, which typically are non-union and operate with better buying power. Other competition exists from warehouse clubs such as Costco that offer savings to customers buying in bulk quantities. Superstores, such as those operated by Wal-Mart and Asda, often offer a wide range of goods and services in addition to foods. The proliferation of such warehouse and superstores has contributed to the continuing disappearance of smaller, local grocery stores, increased dependence on the automobile, suburban sprawl because of the necessity for large floorplates, and increased vehicular traffic and air pollution. Some critics consider the chains' common practice of selling loss leaders to be anti-competitive. They are also wary of the negotiating power that large, often multinational, retailers have with suppliers around the world.

Supermarket

A supermarket is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store and it is smaller than a hypermarket or superstore.

The supermarket typically comprises meat, fresh produce, dairy, and baked goods departments along with shelf space reserved for canned and packaged goods as well as for various nonfood items such as household cleaners, pharmacy products, and pet supplies. Most supermarkets also sell a variety of other household products that are consumed regularly, such as alcohol (where permitted), household cleaning products, medicine, clothes, and some sell a much wider range of nonfood products.

The traditional suburban supermarket occupies a large amount of floor space, usually on a single level, and is situated near a residential area in order to be convenient to consumers. Its basic appeal is the availability of a broad selection of goods under a single roof at relatively low prices. Other advantages include ease of parking and, frequently, the convenience of shopping hours that extend far into the evening or even 24 hours a day. Supermarkets usually make massive outlays of newspaper and other advertising and often present elaborate in-store displays of products. The stores often are part of a corporate chain that owns or controls (sometimes by franchise) other supermarkets located nearby — even transnationally — thus increasing opportunities for economies of scale.

In North America, supermarkets typically are supplied by the distribution centers of its parent company, such as Loblaw Companies in Canada, which operates thousands of supermarkets across the nation. Loblaw operates a distribution center in every province — usually in the largest city in the province.

Supermarkets usually offer products at low prices by reducing their economic margins. Certain products (typically staple foods such as bread, milk and sugar) are frequently sold as loss leaders, that is, with negative profit margins. To maintain a profit, supermarkets attempt to make up for the lower margins by a higher overall volume of sales, and with the sale of higher-margin items. Customers usually shop by placing their selected merchandise into shopping carts (trolleys) or baskets (self-service) and pay for the merchandise at the check-out. At present, many supermarket chains are attempting to further reduce labor costs by shifting to self-service check-out machines, where a single employee can oversee a group of four or five machines at once, assisting multiple customers at a time.

A larger full-service supermarket combined with a department store is sometimes known as a hypermarket. Other services offered at some supermarkets may include those of banks, cafés, childcare centers/creches, photo processing, video rentals, pharmacies, and/or gas stations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarket

Health: Where's the Food From

Products from China used to be associated with bargain prices.
Now they're associated with health threats. In May, pet food carrying the industrial chemical melamine killed dozens of pets across the United States. Then there were lead-painted toy trains, toothpaste contaminated with dry-cleaning chemicals and drug residues in seafood. Most recently, Robert's American Gourmet Food recalled Veggie Booty, a snack food popular with kids, after salmonella bacteria found in the Chinese-made seasoning ingredients was said to have sickened 57 people in 18 states. "China has practices that aren't up to our standards," says Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. Because of the way food products are grown and processed in China, bacteria, drugs and other chemicals, including heavy metals and pesticides, can find their way into products. But the $288 billion worth of Chinese goods that come into this country every year are hard to avoid. China is the third largest food supplier to the United States, after Canada and Mexico. It is a primary supplier of seafood, garlic, seasonings, apple juice, citric and ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and various spices. Roughly 80 percent of the ascorbic acid and 50 percent of the xantham gum found in such products as baby food and salad dressing comes from China, says Peter Kovacs, a food-industry consultant. And, unlike bikes or shoes, food doesn't always say "Made in China." Here's how to stay safe.

Avoid the seafood.
Currently the FDA is blocking imports of Chinese farm-raised catfish, bass, shrimp, dace (similar to carp) and eel while it waits for cleaner fish farms and better inspections. But concerns can go further than that. "I don't eat shrimp from outside the country," says Doyle, who notes that seafood-farming practices in most Southeast Asian countries include overcrowding, exposure to runoff from chicken farms and other opportunities for bacterial and antibiotic contamination. Seafood—fresh or frozen—is required to be labeled by country of origin, so it's not hard to tell where it's from.

Go for big brands.
If an item is wholly produced and packaged in China, the label must reflect that. But foods packaged in the United States don't have to have their ingredients individually labeled by country of origin, and that's how Chinese fillers and seasonings can find their way into pet food and toddler snacks. It may help to look for big brand names, suggests Daniel Diermeier, of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Kovacs says major U.S. companies have redoubled their efforts to test all their Chinese-made ingredients.

Eat locally.
Advocates of the local-food movement say that sticking to foods that come from within a day's drive is good for the environment and healthier. Find community-supported farms and agricultural cooperatives at attra.ncat .org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.php. You still have to cook meats thoroughly and wash your hands: China doesn't have a monopoly on bacteria.

Dig deeper.
Make a habit of checking for problem foods and products at recall.gov, which keeps up with all U.S. recalls. Ask your grocer where your produce comes from, and push for more disclosure from manufacturers about their ingredients, even if you have to call the companies that make the products you eat most, says Caroline Smith DeWaal of the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which keeps records of food threats at cspinet.org/foodsafety. You can also pick up some detective tricks from "A Year Without 'Made in China'" ($24.95), a chronicle of author Sara Bongiorni's efforts to spend a year boycotting Chinese products.
Her conclusion: it's not easy.

With Karen Springen

© 2007
http://www.newsweek.com/id/33028

Makanan Kesehatan untuk Jantung

Yogyakarta – ”Banyak jalan menuju Roma”. Pepatah lama itu, tak berlaku bagi jalan menuju jantung. Pasalnya, jalan menuju jantung itu adalah perut. Segala apa yang ada di dalam perut akan dicerna, kemudian ‘sarinya’ akan diserap melalui usus dan akhirnya dialirkan ke dalam pembuluh darah menuju jantung.

Oleh Wisnu Adi Yulianto

Jantung dapat diibaratkan sebagai pompa air, dan pembuluh darahnya sebagai pipa yang mengalirkan air. Jika air yang dipompanya kotor, tidak saja menyebabkan penempelan kotoran pada dinding pipa dan menghambat aliran air, tetapi juga memaksa pompa bekerja ekstra keras, dan ini akan mempercepat kerusakan pompa. Jika kerusakan itu terjadi pada jantung dan tak lagi berdegup, tak mampu memompa darah ke seluruh tubuh, tamat sudah riwayat kita.

Oleh karena itu, sangat bijaksana apabila perut kita isi dengan makanan yang dapat membantu memelihara kerja jantung atau meminimalkan terganggunya fungsi jantung. Gangguan atau sakit jantung tersebut dapat berupa tekanan darah tinggi dan penyakit jantung koroner (PJK). PJK ini disebabkan oleh aterosklerosis, yaitu penyempitan pembuluh koroner akibat dari penumpukan kolesterol atau bekuan darah, yang sering disebut dengan plak. Penderita penyakit ini diketahui memiliki kadar kolesterol ‘jahat’ low density lipoprotein yang tinggi ( 160 mg/dL), juga kadar kolesterol total yang tinggi ( 240 mg/dL). Oleh karenanya, makanan yang kita konsumsi sebaiknya yang tidak memicu penumpukan kolesterol tersebut.

Tak diragukan lagi bahwa makanan diyakini sebagai salah satu faktor yang mempengaruhi risiko kesehatan jantung, baik itu yang menguntungkan, maupun ada pula yang merugikan. Sebagaimana kita ketahui, diet tinggi lemak jenuh dan natrium meningkatkan risiko jantung, sedangkan diet tinggi serat pangan dan antioksidan dapat membantu mencegah penyakit jantung.

Di samping itu, belakangan ini para peneliti juga telah melaporkan bahwa beberapa nutrien atau senyawa bioaktif di dalam makanan pun terbukti dapat menjaga kesehatan jantung. Jenis nutrien, sumber makanan dan aksinya dalam menjaga menyehatkan jantung dapat diperiksa di dalam Tabel Jenis Nutrien.
Perlu diingat di sini, apa yang tertuang di dalam tabel tersebut, hanyalah sebagian cara pencegahan penyakit jantung. Tindakan preventif lain yang tak kalah penting adalah berolahraga secara teratur, diet seimbang, kurangi stres, dan berhenti merokok.

Akhirnya, kita berharap dengan semakin dipahaminya mekanisme terjadinya penyakit jantung, kelak dapat disusun menu diet yang seimbang dengan dilengkapi kombinasi nutrien-nutrien tersebut di atas sehingga dapat memberikan efek yang lebih menyehatkan pada jantung kita. Semoga!

Penulis adalah Dosen Universitas Wangsa Manggala Yogyakarta.

http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/iptek/kesehatan/2003/1219/kes1.html

Bumiayu

Bumiayu adalah sebuah kecamatan di Kabupaten Brebes, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. Bumiayu merupakan pusat aktivitas masyarakat di bagian selatan Kabupaten Brebes seperti Tonjong, Sirampog, Bantarkawung, Salem, dan Paguyangan. Kecamatan ini berada di daerah dataran tinggi, dan dilalui jalur transportasi utama Tegal-Purwokerto, serta jalur kereta api Jakarta-Cirebon-Purwokerto-Yogyakarta-Surabaya.

Di Bumiayu terdapat Pasar Wage, yaitu pasar yang hanya buka setiap lima hari sekali menurut hari pasaran Kalender Jawa. Di kota Bumiayu, sebagian besar masyarakat Bumiayu memiliki mata pencaharian sebagai pedagang. Kawasan perdagangan kota Bumiayu yang membentang dari Talok hingga Jatisawit. Pasar di Bumiayu adalah Pasar Talok, Pasar Bumiayu, Pasar Majapahit, dan Pasar Jatisawit.

Untuk mengurangi kemacetan di kota Bumiayu, Pemerintah Kabupaten Brebes membangun jalan Lingkar Selatan, yang dibangun di sebelah timur wilayah perkotaan Bumiayu. Jalan tersebut terbentang mulai dari Talok hingga Pagojengan Kecamatan Paguyangan.

Bumiayu merupakan lokasi paling ramai di wilayah Brebes Selatan dan jika bolah saya katakan Bumiayu merupakan sumber kehidupannya orang Brebes Selatan. Keramaian kota ini diramaikan pula oleh penduduk di sekitar wilayahnya seperti Paguyangan, Sirampog, Bantarkawung, Salem, dan Linggapura / Tonjong. Dengan memperhatikan wilayahnya yang begitu strategis, para pentolan-pentolan (punggawa) di Kota Bumiayu pernah memunculkan isu pemekaran, isu ini sudah sampai ke DPRD Brebes dan katanya sempat dibahas di sana tapi sampai sekarang belum muncul lagi isu tersebut.

Kota Tegal dan Ajibarang adalah dua Kota yang paling dekat lokasinya dengan Kota Bumiayu. Tegal berada di utara Bumiayu dan Ajibarang di Selatan Bumiayu. Bumiayu dapat ditempuh dengan mudah baik dari Tegal maupun dari Ajibarang selain karena jaraknya yang tidak begitu jauh juga karena layanan transportasinya yang sangat mudah. Bus angkutan umum bisa didapatkkan selama 24 jam, dan bus-bus kecil lainnya juga sangat mudah didapatkan tetapi bus-bus kecil ini hanya beroperasi di siang hari paling malam hanya pada pukul sembilan malam. Jalan utama di Bumiayu sering macet terutama menjelang dan sesudah Hari Raya dul Fitri, ini diesbabkan karena padatnya kegiatan di sepanjang jalan Kota Bumiayu terutama di sekitar pasar. Namun sejak beroperasinya jalan lingkar Kota Bumiayu kemacetan ini dapat diatasi.

Ayo Dukung Indonesia !

Pemilihan 7 keajaiban milik dunia kembali digelar, berbeda dengan kriteria sebelumnya dengan keajaiban yang dibuat secara sengaja oleh manusia dalam bentuk bangunan, kali ini panitia mengajak dunia untuk memilih 7 keajaiban baru milik dunia yang bukan dari buatan manusia.

Sudah terpilih sebanyak 77 tempat di seluruh dunia dari berbagai kategori, dan Indonesia mengajukan atau setidaknya sudah terpilih sebanyak 3 tempat eksotik, antara lain:

1. Komodo National Park
2. Krakatau, Volcanic Island
3. Lake Toba

Voting dilakukan melalui internet, dengan batas waktu sampai akhir 2008!

VOTE for INDONESIA :
http://www.new7wonders.com/
atau:
http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking

Catatan:
Indonesia mungkin akan kalah dari negara lain, bahkan negara kecil yang mengajukan tempat yang tidak terlalu menarik, hanya karena negara tersebut lebih melek internet ( Singapore contohnya, yang mengajukan Bukit Timah Nature Reserve). Brazil misalnya, pemerintahnya menyediakan fasilitas gratis untuk masyarakatnya yang tidak punya akses internet agar bisa ikut memilih untuk negaranya.

Karena itu, ayo bantu sebarkan informasi dan ajakan ini!

SURAT KETETAPAN UNICORE

Menindaklanjuti pelaksanaan Surat Ketetapan Unicore tertanggal 6 Mei 2008, dengan ini ditegaskan bahwa surat keputusan tersebut bersifat final dan mengikat, namun pelaksanaan sangsi ditunda selama 40 hari hingga tanggal 15 Juni 2008 untuk memberi waktu bagi para pemimpin jaringan untuk melakukan konsolidasi berkaitan dengan penggunaan strategi di jaringan masing-masing.
Demikian surat edaran ini dikeluarkan sebagai kesempatan terakhir bagi pihak-pihak yang berkaitan untuk dimanfaatkan demi kebaikan dan masa depan bersama.

Bandung, 7 Juni 2008
Forum Konseptor Unicore
http://unicore.today.com/2008/05/07/penting-surat-ketetapan/

Serial Talkshow Unicore di Trans7

Mulai tanggal 28 Juni 2008 setiap hari Sabtu pk.11.00-11.30 WIB akan ditayangkan serial talkshow Unicore di stasiun televisi swasta Trans7 dengan nama "Ada Apa Dengan MLM". Serial ini bertujuan untuk mengedukasi masyarakat tentang fakta sesungguhnya tentang MLM khususnya Tianshi dan support system Unicore.

Acara akan dipandu oleh Venny Rose (presenter terbaik peraih Panasonic Award), menampilkan leader-leader penerima reward dari Unicore dan pakar dari berbagai bidang seperti Ketua APLI Bpk. Helmy Attamimi, James Gwee (motivator terkenal dari Singapura), dan lain-lain.