(Company Promotes Importance of Maintaining Proper Home Refrigerator
               Temperatures and Offers Tips for Safe Grilling)

    LANDOVER, Md., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Giant Food LLC is partnering with
the Food Marketing Institute and the Partnership for Food Safety Education to
promote Project Chill, a national food safety education program developed to
educate consumers on the importance of maintaining home refrigerator
temperatures at 40 degrees F or below.
    Project Chill is an extension of the popular and effective Fight BAC!
public food safety education campaign featuring the four basic messages:
Clean, Cook, Separate, and Chill.  Giant also reminds consumers to follow the
four Fight BAC! rules for safe grilling and summer food preparation as the
Memorial Day weekend approaches.
    Giant will promote Project Chill through in-store radio spots and its
website (http://www.giantfood.com) starting in late May, and will communicate
additional food safety messages to customers in the supermarket's weekly ad
circular.
    According to the United States Food and Drug Administration and the United
States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service,
refrigeration at 40 degrees F or below is one of the most effective ways to
reduce the risk of food-borne illness.  The best way to make sure your
refrigerator is maintaining the recommended temperature of 40 degrees F or
below is to check it with a refrigerator thermometer.  As part of Project
Chill, certified refrigerator thermometers are available for sale at most
Giant locations for a cost of $9.99.  These thermometers, by Farberware, are
available in the housewares department at most stores.
    "You need to use certified refrigerator thermometers to make sure home
refrigerators maintain temperatures of 40 degrees F or less," stated Odonna
Mathews, Vice President of Consumer Affairs for Giant Food.  "Keeping your
refrigerator at the proper temperature reduces the risk of food-borne
illnesses."
    Consumers also need to think about food safety as they prepare for
cookouts over the Memorial Day weekend.  When grilling foods, cook ground beef
to 160 degrees F, steaks to 145 degrees F and chicken to 180 degrees F.  A
quick response food thermometer is the best way to make sure foods are cooked
properly.  Using a thermometer is the only way to tell if meat and poultry
have reached a safe temperature.

    Follow the four Fight BAC! rules and put them into practice at your
cookout:

    1. Clean -- wash hands, food surfaces and utensils often with hot soapy
       water.

    2. Separate -- don't cross contaminate by using plates or utensils for raw
       and cooked food.  Use a clean plate for those cooked burgers coming off
       the grill.

    3. Chill -- keep foods in the refrigerator or a cooler filled with ice.

    4. Cook to proper temperatures -- use a thermometer to get to the right
       temperature and not overcook.

    About Giant Food LLC
    Giant Food LLC, headquartered in Landover, MD, operates 203 supermarkets
in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, and
employs more than 25,000 associates. Giant stores in New Jersey and Delaware
operate under the Super G name.  Included within the 203 stores are 174 full-
service pharmacies.

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