A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

th the turnover and the preparations quickened : A government commission has fin

ally drafted a plan for the canal 's future operation , and an autonomous agency

 is entertaining development projects for the land that is coming under Panamani

an control . As the first contingent of U.S. troops began pulling out on Friday 

, senior U.S. officers said they hope that the withdrawal of the 193rd Infantry 

Brigade will force Panamanians to overcome their doubts and realize that the Uni

ted States is serious about leaving . The issue of Panama 's readiness weighs he

avily on governments such as Japan , whose trade relies on transit through the c

anal , and on the multibillion-dollar shipping industry . Yet for thousands of w

orkers who depend on the canal and the military bases , there are much more basi

c questions about jobs and livelihoods . Panama is home to multiple generations 

of both Panamanians and Americans whose lives are intertwined with the canal , a

nd the world they have known is ending . Beverly and Joe Wood are part of the dw

indling community of Americans connected to the canal . Once called `` Zonians ,

 '' the Americans had numbered more than 4,000 , but now there are fewer than 80

0 . As the canal is transferred to Panamanian control , Americans are being phas

ed out of the operation , and the Woods must leave their home next year . Second

-generation canal employees , the Woods had what they considered ideal lives , s

erving their country , serving the world and residing in paradise . They were bo

rn here and met , married and had children in the territory once known as the Pa

nama Canal Zone a strip of land around the waterway that was physically part of 

Panama but that administratively belonged to the United States . It was a separa

te and privileged world of neat clapboard homes and manicured lawns lined with p

alm trees and orchids . The Zonians had their own schools , stores and hospitals

 a last bastion of U.S. colonialism that is fading . The Woods , in essence , mu

st find a new country . ( Begin optional trim ) `` The whites who were in South 

Africa , the British who were in India .. . they probably had similar feelings ,

 '' Joe Wood said , seated on the couch in his home in Balboa , once a part of t

he Zone off limits to Panamanians without special permits . `` Our home is gone 

. Our kids can't come back . It 's a wonderful life that is coming to an end . '

' The Zone officially was dissolved as one of the first steps of the 1977 treati

es . Now called the Panama Canal Area , parts still belong to the United States 

, but it no longer has a separate U.S. governor or U.S. police force . Under the

 treaties , the commission will cease to exist and land totaling 17 percent of n

ational territory will revert to Panama as the U.S. . Southern Command and its t

roops withdraw . Some estimates value the land which includes hundreds of vintag

e 1940s buildings and a corridor of triple-canopy jungle full of exotic birds , 

big cats and lemurs at $ 30 billion , but only if developed wisely . Most of wha

t has transferred thus far has been badly neglected . What Panama loses , at lea

st in the short term , is $ 300 million to $ 400 million in annual income and at

 least 4,000 well-paying jobs . ( End optional trim ) Luis Salazar has spent 21 

years collecting the trash and repairing the plumbing at Fort Davis and Fort Esp

inar on the Atlantic end of the canal , near the city of Colon . Like many Panam

anians , he has little faith that the country 's traditionally corrupt governmen

ts can be trusted to administer the canal and the potential windfall from the la

nd grants . `` They ( government leaders ) want more and more and more , and the

n they can't handle the burden , '' he said of the haphazard land acquisition . 

`` Instead of moving forward , we are just falling behind . '' Standing at Fort 

Espinar , Salazar looked with disgust at the row of three-story barracks that on

ce housed American troops , then Noriega 's army , but that have remained empty 

for years . Since being turned over to the Panamanian government , the buildings

 have fallen into woeful disrepair . Nearby is the original School of the Americ

as , the U.S. military 's controversial training center for Latin armies for dec

ades until its transfer to Fort Benning , Ga. , in 1984 . The school was the cen

ter of a U.S. hemispherical military strategy aimed at fighting communism . The 

once-imposing building is a shambles ; scavengers have chipped away the marble w

alls , and granite columns lie toppled on the ground , which is overgrown with w

illows and weeds . Upkeep for the 10 bases still under U.S. control costs the Am

erican government $ 80 million a year . If structures are not maintained in the 

humid tropics , they are rapidly lost to the jungle . Panamanian officials conte

nd they can't afford to pay for the maintenance . Joaquin J. Vallarino , one of 

Panama 's richest men and head of the presidential commission assigned to draft 

a transition plan for the canal , acknowledged that doubts about Panama are just

ified . `` Many things were done badly .. . both sides , '' Vallarino said . `` 

The Panamanians themselves have doubts . They are frightened . But it is perfect

ly within the capacity of Panamanians ( to manage the canal ) , as long as it is

 not politicized . ''

 Now that there are new nutrition labels on food packages , what happens to the 

claims about those same products made by advertisers ? Will it all be consistent

 ? The answer , like many in the world of government regulation , is as complex 

as a fine wine . Here 's a brief outline : As of May 8 , manufacturers have had 

to comply with the Food and Drug Administration 's new labeling law , meaning th

at every jar of jam or pickle relish leaving a factory has to list exactly what 

's in it for example , the amount of fat , saturated fat , cholesterol and sodiu

m . Many of the new labels are already appearing on food packages , but it may t

ake a while before they all get through the pipeline and onto supermarket shelve

s . As part of the law , FDA also defined a host of terms , such as `` low fat ,

 '' `` reduced calorie '' or `` high in fiber , '' and sanctioned five diet-and-

disease claims ( such as calcium reducing the risk of osteoporosis ) for product

s that comply with certain nutrient guidelines . Meanwhile , meat and poultry pr

oducts regulated by the Department of Agriculture will have until July 8 to comp

ly with the new law . Now here 's where it gets even more complicated . Neither 

of these agencies FDA or USDA is responsible for overseeing food ads . That 's t

he bailiwick of the Federal Trade Commission , which operates under a different 

set of bureaucratic authorities and philosophies . The FTC does not preapprove a

ds or dictate what advertisers may say ; it challenges claims it finds false and

 misleading . But given the broad changes brought about by FDA 's labeling law ,

 the FTC wanted to clarify its position . So on May 13 the agency announced it w

ould seek to reconcile its policies with FDA 's new regulations to `` the fulles

t extent possible . '' `` Our goal is to help ensure that the messages consumers

 get from food advertising are consistent with those they see in food labeling t

oday and in the future , '' said FTC Chairman Janet D. Steiger . But at least on

e watchdog group believes consumers could end up getting a lot of mixed messages

 instead . `` The FTC 's policy is filled with loopholes that will permit food c

ompanies to make food and nutrition claims in advertising that are not permitted

 in labeling , '' said Sharon Lindan , assistant director of legal affairs for t

he Center for Science in the Public Interest . Lindan cited a number of examples

 where she believes consumers might find confusing inconsistencies . For example

 , the FDA allows manufacturers to use terms such as `` less '' fat or `` reduce

d '' cholesterol only if there has been at least a 25 percent reduction in the n

utrient . Under the FTC 's policy , advertisers would be allowed to make a `` le

ss '' or `` reduced '' claim if the reduction is less than 25 percent , so long 

as the ad indicates exactly what the reduction was ( `` 20 percent less fat in o

ur frozen entree as compared to Brand X '' ) . Nevertheless , the FTC said it wo

uld carefully scrutinize claims that differ from the FDA 's 25-percent reduction

 rule . And while advertisers would have to follow the FDA 's definitions for te

rms such as `` low , '' `` high '' and `` lean , '' when describing nutrients su

ch as fat , saturated fat or fiber , they may use any synonyms so long as they '

re not deceptive . `` I understand the need to market products with catchy phras

es , '' said Lindan . She cited an ad for a frozen turkey dinner that says `` yo

u get a lot of taste and not a lot of salt . '' `` Is that low sodium ? '' she a

sked . `` If so , the product doesn't meet the FDA 's definition . '' Ann Maher 

, assistant director of the division of advertising practices at the FTC , said 

the few exceptions in the agency 's policy `` reflect the limits to our authorit

y . '' It can't ban ads that aren't deceptive . So what does the food industry t

hink ? `` In its ( the FTC 's ) effort to harmonize , we think they went farther

 than they needed to go , '' said Toni Guarino , general counsel of the Grocery 

Manufacturers of America . Still , it may be too early to tell , she said . `` B

efore anybody makes too many dire predictions about how horrible or wonderful it

 ( the policy ) is , we should see how it pans out . ''

 YOUNTVILLE , Calif. . Dawnine Dyer 's footsteps echo as she walks the concrete 

floor of Napa Valley 's Domaine Chandon winery . Six dozen 14,000-gallon stainle

ss-steel tanks tower above her , as if standing at attention for the 43-year-old

 winemaker . `` It 's amazing how much is going on in here , '' says Dyer . `` B

ut you can't see it , because all the action the fermentation , everything is go

ing on inside the tanks . '' Dyer seems right at home in this American subsidiar

y of the renowned French holding company Louis Vuitton-Moet-Hennessey . And she 

should be , having helped build the 17-year-old sparkling-wine facility . Dyer j

oined Domaine Chandon as a chemist while the facility was under construction . H

er mission : to design and develop a lab for a quality-control program . Today s

he 's the chief winemaker and vice president . Dyer is one of the new breed of t

his nation 's winemakers : young , energetic , well educated and female . Today 

, in California , the nation 's leading wine-producing state , there are at leas

t half a dozen women executives running big wineries , more than three dozen wom

en winemakers and scores more working in the vineyards , cellars , labs and mark

eting departments . `` It seems like a sudden explosion of women , '' says Janet

 Pagano , general manager and director of winemaking at Codorniu Napa winery , t

he American subsidiary of the Spanish Codorniu sparkling-wine producer , `` but 

women have been working their way up the ranks . It 's only in the last several 

years that they 've emerged in positions of responsibilities , '' says the 36-ye

ar-old executive , who was tapped to head Codorniu Napa in 1989 . Ask wine exper

ts about top-notch woman winemakers and executives and names quickly tumble out 

: Dyer , Pagano , Zelma Long at Simi Winery , Eugenia Keegan at La Bouchaine Vin

eyards , Cathy Corison at Corison Winery , Michaela Rodeno at St. Supery Vineyar

ds & Winery , Margaret Davenport at Clos du Bois , Eileen Crane at Domaine Carne

ros , Alison Green at Firestone Vineyards , Christina Benz at Murphy-Goode Winer

y . It 's a growing list and one that 's hard to fathom when you consider that ,

 for many centuries , women weren't even allowed to touch wine as it was being m

ade their mere presence , it was believed , could contaminate the wine . Even af

ter that primitive superstition faded , women were still not welcome in the wine

ries . Among other things , owners believed they lacked the requisite physical s

trength and emotional makeup . Consider a 1943 `` Women in Wineries '' article i

n The Wine Review , which earnestly discussed the prospect of wineries ' hiring 

women during World War II . `` Employing women in your winery is nothing to worr

y about if you go at it in the right spirit and proper care , '' the article sai

d . Among other things , the piece cautioned : `` Women tire faster than men , a

nd where possible , they should be seated at their work . Also they are more sen

sitive to noise , dirt , unpleasant odors , which far from being a problem tends

 to promote orderliness and sanitation in the bottling room , which is as it sho

uld be . '' It was only in the late 1970s and early '80s that women started livi

ng down these preconceptions . It was a particularly propitious time for women ,

 recalls Rodeno , chief executive officer of St. Supery. `` The California wine 

industry was just starting to expand . There were lots of opportunities then for

 anyone man or woman . And everyone who was interested in wine took them . '' Wh

at 's more , she adds , `` there were fewer social barriers '' to overcome in th

is relatively new industry than in the more entrenched , male-dominated distribu

tion end of the business . Rodeno , now 47 , first worked as a tour guide for Be

aulieu Vineyards in fact , she was BV 's first female tour guide . Within months

 , though , she learned that Moet-Hennessey was going to build a sparkling-wine 

facility in Napa . Fluent in French , Rodeno introduced herself to the head of t

he new Domaine Chandon winery and told him she could help . She was hired as ass

istant to the president and became vice president for marketing and communicatio

ns before she was hired by another French company to head St. Supery six years a

go . Take a tour of St. Supery and one of the first things you 'll notice is a p

icture of the management team : five women , one man ( the winemaker ) . It 's n

ot intentional , Rodeno says . Every time there 's an opening , `` I try hard to

 find a guy , but then a woman walks in and blows every other candidate out of t

he water . '' Ironically , it 's the Europeans doing business in America who see

m the most open to hiring and promoting women . `` Doing business in America is 

probably so different for a European company that having a woman manager is just

 one more thing different about America , '' says Codorniu Napa 's Pagano . Amer

ican men , on the other hand , often have a hard time accepting women at the top

 , Pagano adds . `` When I was hired by Codorniu Napa , I was asked repeatedly b

y men in the industry how I happened to get this job . They were genuinely baffl

ed , and the obvious answer that I was the most qualified wasn't evident to them

 . '' Among the first women to break into the production end of the business was

 Simi 's Zelma Long , now considered one of the nation 's leading winemakers , r

acking up industry awards year after year . So far in 1994 , she 's won the Woma

n of the Year Award from the Roundtable for Women in Food Service and was a fina

list for the James Beard wine and spirits professional-of-the-year award . Her e

ntry into the business `` was definitely by happenstance , '' says the 50-year-o

ld Long , who trained as a dietitian `` at a time when nutrition got no respect 

. '' When her husband 's parents bought a vineyard in Napa Valley , Long decided

 to get a master 's in enology at the University of California at Davis . `` It 

was one of those seriously considered career decisions , '' she says with a big 

grin . That was in 1968 , and Long was only the second woman to enter Davis 's e

nology program . She was only halfway through when the Robert Mondavi Winery woo

ed her away . It was the harvest , and `` they were desperate , '' she says . On

ce at Mondavi , `` I fell in love with the business '' and stayed . Long 's pres

ence has helped open the door for many other women partly because she gave many 

their first jobs , including Dyer of Domaine Chandon and Davenport of Clos du Bo

is . `` She helped send a lot of people on their way , '' says Davenport .

 YOUNTVILLE , Calif. . One of the few women entrepreneurs in the wine business i

s Cathy Corison , whose Corison Cabernet Sauvignon has won critical acclaim ever

 since it was first released in 1987 . For those who praise her wines , it 's ha

rd to believe that Corison was rejected for a cellar job 18 years ago . Winery o

fficials at Freemark Abbey Winery doubted that the petite Corison , now 40 , was

 strong enough for the physically demanding job . When the man who won the job d

idn't work out , winery officials reluctantly agreed to hire her a year later , 

making her the first woman to hold a cellar position in Napa Valley since Prohib

ition . ( Long , by contrast , started her career in the lab . ) Eventually , Co

rison became top winemaker at Chappelet Vineyard , producing highly rated cabern

ets . Yet that was not enough for her . `` I was using their vineyards , their c

oncepts , their budget . I wanted a chance to make wine the way I wanted to . ''

 So in 1987 she went part-time to produce her own wine . `` I was clearly crazy 

. '' And also successful . This past year she released 2,500 cases of her wine a

nd sold out within two months . Now Corison , working full time for herself , ha

s discovered another challenge that faces women winemakers : juggling a wine car

eer and motherhood . Her first child , Rose ( named after the flower , not the w

ine , Corison says ) was born last January . `` It was the most carefully timed 

baby , '' she jokes . `` She came in our only slow time of the year . ''

 This lime-flavored shrimp and vegetable salad is perfect for hot summer nights 

when you want to escape the kitchen for dinner on the porch or balcony . SHRIMP 

SALAD WITH CUMIN LIME DRESSING ( Makes 4 servings ) 1 large red bell pepper 2 ta

blespoons plus  cup olive oil  pound snow peas , cleaned 3 cloves garlic , finel

y chopped 1 jalapeno pepper , finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger 

root 1 teaspoons cumin powder ( or more to taste ) 1 teaspoons sugar 1 tablespoo

ns fresh lime juice Salt and pepper to taste 1 pound shrimp , shelled ( and deve

ined if desired )  cup fresh cilantro , cleaned and coarsely chopped Cut the bel

l pepper into 4 slices , cutting from the top to the bottom of the pepper . Disc

ard the inner ribs and seeds . Very lightly coat the skin of the slices with abo

ut 1 tablespoon of the olive oil . Broil under a hot broiler for 5 minutes , unt

il the slices begin to blacken slightly . Cut the slices into  inch strips . Set

 aside . Blanch the snow peas in boiling water for 3 minutes , until slightly te

nder . Rinse in cold water . Set aside . In a saute pan or skillet , saute the g

arlic , jalapeno and ginger in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes , or unti

l the garlic starts to color . Transfer the mixture to a small bowl with a slott

ed utensil , leaving as much oil in the pan as possible . To the bowl , add the 

cumin , sugar , lime juice , salt , pepper and the remaining  cup olive oil . St

ir vigorously to mix . Set the dressing aside . Reheat the saute pan until it is

 almost smoking hot . Toss the shrimp in the pan , and cook briefly on each side

 , until pink ( about 15 to 20 seconds on each side ) . If your pan is not big e

nough to hold all of the shrimp in one layer , then cook the shrimp in batches .

 Combine the shrimp , snowpeas , pepper slices , dressing and cilantro , and tos

s gently . Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later .

 The premiere issue of Saveur , the American version of the French food magazine

 , is out this month with a cover story on Oaxacan cooking and a hefty price tag

 : $ 5 . The bimonthly magazine also has some heavy-hitter names on the masthead

 , including Metropolitan Home 's founding editor Dorothy Kalins as editor-in-ch

ief , restaurant critic Colman Andrews as executive editor and Bill Sertl , form

erly with Travel and Leisure , as travel editor . The first issue 's stories are

 somewhat scattershot : yet another gee-whiz paean to Parma 's prosciutto and pa

rmigiano , an affectionate tour of Charleston 's Low-country cooking , a treatis

e on eggs and a wine story on a duo whom Andrews calls `` the Beavis and Butthea

d of the Santa Barbara County wine scene . '' A little something for everyone , 

obviously . -O- Life really is a bowl of cherries this month . California Bing c

herries are in season , and the state is reporting the biggest crop since 1987 .

 That 's good news for consumers , who can expect to pay lower prices this year 

. California cherries should be at their peak for the next two to three weeks , 

then Northwest cherries will be arriving . -O- SOS ! Share Our Strength , a not-

for-profit group dedicated to feeding the hungry , is raising money for food by 

selling culinary art that looks great , and that you can feel good about having 

or giving . The gift collection includes fruit-and-vegetable-decorated aprons , 

pins , scarves , ties and T-shirts ( $ 12 to $ 70 ) . Alternatively , there 's a

lso the SOS Hot Chefs Crate ( $ 34.95 ) , a collection of hot salsas and sauces 

from three-star SOS chefs Mark Miller , Larry Forgione and Chris Schlesinger . T

o order , or to request a gift brochure , call 1-800-969-4767 .

 WASHINGTON The cut-flower garden combines the ornamental richness of perennials

 with the productivity of annuals . Indeed , no other blend more satisfactorily 

delivers cottage-garden charm without the time and commitment required for a cut

ting garden of perennials alone . The cut-flower garden is grown , simply , to p

rovide a wide array of flowers for indoor bouquets throughout the growing season

 . Traditionally , it was planted as part of the `` working '' garden , the site

 that served as the primary source of food and medicine for families and communi