Briefs | Food tax relief begins today

Starting today, the 3 percent state sales tax on unprepared food will be eliminated.

That means lower prices for everything from cans of corn to bags of chips .

What’s not covered: alcohol, tobacco, prepared foods, vitamins and pet food.

County local-option sales taxes, such as the 1 percent levied in Richland and Lexington, still will be charged.

• S.C. trade group names new director

Belinda Davis is the new executive director of the S.C. World Trade Center, the Charleston Regional Business Journal reported. Davis, a member of the trade organization’s executive committee, replaces Lisa Callihan, who left after five months.

• Palmetto GBA wins Medicare contract

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina subsidiary, Palmetto GBA, was selected by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to process Medicare claims for California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The five-year contract has an estimated value of $400 million.