FPFC tour gives retail and foodservice community an upclose look at the Salinas Valley
FPFC tour gives retail and foodservice community an upclose look at the Salinas Valley
A busload of retailers, foodservice operators, suppliers and allied industry toured the Salinas Valley as part of a Fresh Produce & Floral Council tour held Wednesday, June 1.
The tour was designed to give retail and foodservice personnel a first-hand look at the production element of some of the products they sell and promote.
Three operations -- California Florida Plant Co., California Giant and Monterey Mushrooms -- were included in the full-day program.
At the flower operation, company spokesperson Margaret Hasegawa took the crowd through a visual and narrative of the company's diversification efforts over the past five decades.
The firm began as a flower breeder of a single type and has moved into other areas including fruit, vegetable and flower plant breeding; it is also a grower and shipper of dwarf carnations and other crops.
Cal Giant representatives discussed the firm's fresh and juice operations, including the company's proprietary and innovative "Just Strawberries" fruit drink. Randall Freeman, formerly of the Del Monte Food Co., recently joined the organization and is helping to propel sales of this new fresh strawberry byproduct.
At Monterey Mushrooms, a number of fungus experts walked the group through the many stages of producing mushrooms. Those perfect mushrooms don't grow on trees. Instead they are created through a scientific mixture of compost, spores, darkness, humidity, temperature and growing talent.
At the end of the day -- literally each day -- Monterey Mushrooms produces hundreds of thousands of perfect mushrooms that are shipped all over the country.
(Photos from this event appear in the June 6 issue of The Produce News.)
The tour was designed to give retail and foodservice personnel a first-hand look at the production element of some of the products they sell and promote.
Three operations -- California Florida Plant Co., California Giant and Monterey Mushrooms -- were included in the full-day program.
At the flower operation, company spokesperson Margaret Hasegawa took the crowd through a visual and narrative of the company's diversification efforts over the past five decades.
The firm began as a flower breeder of a single type and has moved into other areas including fruit, vegetable and flower plant breeding; it is also a grower and shipper of dwarf carnations and other crops.
Cal Giant representatives discussed the firm's fresh and juice operations, including the company's proprietary and innovative "Just Strawberries" fruit drink. Randall Freeman, formerly of the Del Monte Food Co., recently joined the organization and is helping to propel sales of this new fresh strawberry byproduct.
At Monterey Mushrooms, a number of fungus experts walked the group through the many stages of producing mushrooms. Those perfect mushrooms don't grow on trees. Instead they are created through a scientific mixture of compost, spores, darkness, humidity, temperature and growing talent.
At the end of the day -- literally each day -- Monterey Mushrooms produces hundreds of thousands of perfect mushrooms that are shipped all over the country.
(Photos from this event appear in the June 6 issue of The Produce News.)
