Today's first item reports on Monday's announcement by Brinker International that it has agreed to sell a majority interest in its 220-restaurant chain, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, to Golden Gate Capital for $131.5 million in cash.

In other news, wholesale prices increased more than expected in July, adding to growing fears about inflation, according to a government report released this morning.

Elsewhere, SYSCO, Systems and Services Corporation and Dezina Marketing, Inc. have announced an exclusive venture designed to penetrate the residential market for online grocery shopping through substantial cost savings offered by SYSCO's immense buying power, and the personalized product delivery system created by Dezina Marketing, Inc.

In continuing to pursue its antitrust case against Whole Foods' acquisition of Wild Oats, the Federal Trade Commission cannot expect the two chains to somehow "un-merge." Yet the FTC has hewed to a relentless course of legal action against the $565 million merger, now almost a full year after the deal has closed.

Food and Drug Administration officials said on Friday that it is unlikely the agency will continue its search for the exact origin of a salmonella-tainted pepper, but that the investigation still continues into the nationwide salmonella outbreak that FDA said is the largest food-borne outbreak in years.

Internationally, South Korea will temporarily halt quarantine inspections on all Chilean pork following the discovery of a third package of dioxin-tainted meat, the government said Monday.

In Brazil, if it is up to the supply of raw material, the production of poultry and pork will expand significantly in 2008 and during 2009. This because the domestic availability of the main products which make up the feed used for these animals, in this case, corn and soybean meal, is at a record high in the country.

In Israel, the price of eggs rose today by 8.2 percent, or NIS 0.07 per egg. The Ministry of Agriculture attributed the rise to higher prices for fuel and other inputs, such as grains for chicken feed and transportation costs. The Ministry of Agriculture is also revamping its egg standards to the international standard of S to XL, which replace the current numbered system for indicating egg size.

Finally today, Pennsylvania's veterinarians have launched an initiative to encourage more vets to care for animals raised for food, instead of for companionship. Like their counterparts in human medicine, veterinarians have found it difficult to attract young colleagues to rural areas, where most food animals live, and keep them there.