The Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED) of Salt Lake City, UT launched the Proud Member logo program that enables member companies to use the logo on their Web sites, product brochures or in trade advertising and outreach.

Tree of Life (a KeHE Company, Romeoville, IL) now offers retailers the EasyTree ordering system, which enables them to “replace any and all single-vendor ordering devices and manual ordering methods with one intelligent device.” The multi-vendor ordering platform is intended to give stores better control over ordering and give them better access to monthly deals.

World’s Best Cat Litter of Muscatine, IA donated a total of 5,255 lbs of cat litter to Washington, D.C.-area animal shelters that received the most votes in its Facebook contest.

The Natural Products Foundation of Washington, D.C. discussed the enforcement of dietary supplement advertising program with the Federal Trade Commission as part of its Truth in Advertising program.

Reserveage Organics of Gainesville, FL will now use rice bran and silica instead of dicalcium phosphate and magnesium stearate in its products. These excipients help prevent ingredients from caking.

The American Botanical Council, based in Austin, TX, is organizing its first tour to Vietnam. This 16-day trip will let attendees visit medicinal herb shops, fruit and tea plantations and vegetable farms. According to the group, “We will meet with Vietnamese health officials and inspect an organic herb farm where an important traditional herb of the area is being cultivated for commercial use, research, and export.” Details are available at http://abc.herbalgram.org.

Steviva Brands, Inc. of Portland, OR announced that it has a new distributor: Nature’s Best. The firm’s products are also available through KeHE Distributors.

Nicholas Perricone, M.D., just published a new book, Forever Young that features a chapter in which he recommends mushroom products, including those from Mushroom Wisdom of East Rutherford, NJ.

Los Angeles, CA-based Jarrow Formulas, Inc. gave nearly 1,800 bottles of vitamins (786 bottles of SOD Synergy and 1,008 bottles of Sterol Mega) to the AIDS Project Los Angeles Necessities of Life Program.

Halo, Purely for Pets will sponsor Freekibble.com and Freekibblekat.com, groups that feed needy shelter pets.

Santa Cruz, CA-based Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems doubled its donations to Vitamin Angels on purchases of its Prenatal One, Complete Prenatal System and Kid’s One multivitamins during September.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, November 2010 (published ahead of print on September 28, 2010)