For retailers, nothing is more important than having ripe fruit on display each and every day. But is it enough to justify the investment in ripening rooms? Few know the answer to this question better than Gary Campisi, former head of quality control for produce, floral, meat and seafood at Walmart and Sam’s Club.

What’s the importance of having ripe bananas on display for retailers?

The 2023 Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s Convention & Trade Show will take place next week at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The exhibit space is sold out, but there is still time to register to attend the event, connect with key industry leaders, and hear from awards recipients.

Here is a snapshot by the numbers:

Wakefern Food Corp., with member companies that own and operate supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners, announced that Elena Kabasinskas has joined as group vice president, strategy, planning and transformation.

Responsible for leading transformation planning, strengthening business processes and Wakefern’s strategic deployment of new technologies, Kabasinskas will report to Michael Day, who has been promoted to senior vice president, strategy, business development and architecture.

With the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Show back in Toronto, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture will be headed up north to exhibit, as it does each time the CPMA is in Eastern Canada.

Postharvest handling of some fruits involves additional steps that are critical to their success at retail.  Ripening with ethylene ensures that several of these commodities are at their ideal ripeness and will properly reach a dependable, ready-to-eat stage at the right time.  Ethylene is a natural plant hormone that various fruits release as they enter their climacteric stage, the period when fruit respiration increases and starches convert to sugars.