The Fresh Produce & Floral Council hosted its annual Holiday Luncheon & Charity Auction Wednesday, Dec. 6th at the Sheraton Cerritos. This cherished tradition brought together over 270 industry leaders and supporters for a festive occasion that not only celebrates the holiday season but also makes a significant impact on two deserving organizations: Brighter Bites and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

The amount of data available concerning consumers' retail produce buying habits now rivals that of consumer packaged goods, and produce companies should be taking advantage of that fact.

That was the big takeaway from an hour-long International Fresh Produce Association virtual town hall presentation on Dec. 13 by Jonna Parker of Circana, which is the rebranded name of the company that resulted from the 2022 merging of IRI and NPD. Circana bills itself as the leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses — West Pacific Orchard LLC, Always Fresco LLC and AAA American Select Produce LLC — for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The fifth Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class finished an informative 2023 educational program with a robust schedule of events at the New York Produce Show and Conference in New York City Dec. 5-7.

After several years of successful production trials, Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC will be expanding the sourcing of its PureHeart mini seedless watermelon from Guatemala beginning in January 2024 and extending into April. Product shipped will arrive via the West Coast port Hueneme in California, as well as to the East Coast through port Everglades in Florida.

Charles Bracher has informed Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. of his intention to step down as chief financial officer, effective March 1 to pursue another opportunity. Bracher will work closely with Lindsay Gray, who currently serves as senior vice president of accounting (principal accounting officer), through his transition. If a new CFO is not appointed by March 1, the company will appoint Gray to serve as interim CFO until a permanent replacement has been identified.