Lufa Farms expands with second rooftop greenhouse
An industry leader in the area of urban agriculture, Lufa Farms opened its second rooftop greenhouse last fall in Montreal.
The greenhouse uses state-of-the-art agriculture technology and design, allowing Lufa to continue to make its model more sustainable, efficient and economically viable. The company currently has 3,000 Montreal subscribers and has plans to expand both in Montreal and other cities.
Former A&P executive pleads guilty to fraud
John R. Moritz, former senior vice president of marketing for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., admitted his role in a scheme to defraud A&P by selling for personal gain event tickets that were intended for A&P’s use, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Moritz fraudulently obtained more than $1.2 million, selling tickets for events that included the 2011 Super Bowl, the 2011 New York Yankees playoffs and Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga and U2 concerts.
FDA to set standards for posting recall notices in supermarkets
WASHINGTON — The Food & Drug Administration is asking for information that will assist in requiring grocery store chains to post food recall notices in conspicuous locations.
On Tuesday, the FDA released some questions for stakeholders and consumers as it writes a rule for a little-known requirement of the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Problematic Northern weather hampered Florida product movement
Right now, the talk in Florida is about weather. The state's fresh producers experienced a relatively mild winter, and crops in the Sunshine State are progressing with good growing conditions reported.
Stater Bros. rated No. 1 in Southern California
Stater Bros. Supermarkets has been rated as the "best place to shop for groceries" among full-service supermarket chains in Southern California in the May 2014 issue of a leading national consumer magazine.
Stater Bros. was rated No. 1 in Southern California for low prices and highly rated for employee courtesy, meat and produce quality, cleanliness and checkout speed.
The ratings were based on the responses of the magazine's readers about their experiences at 55 leading U.S. supermarket chains, warehouse stores, and limited assortment stores.
Sun Coast Farms rolls out new website
Sun Coast Farms, based in Santa Maria, CA, has launched a new website that includes many of the company's new attributes.
The new site now contains all food-safety audits along with updated product information for Sun Coast's California and Texas operations.
"We felt we needed a new look to go along with company changes that reflects some of growth initiatives planned for this year," Steve Poindexter, chief executive officer of Sun Coast Farms, said in a press release.
Michigan Apple Committee welcomes new account manager
The Michigan Apple Committee has hired Edwin (Cam) Harrington of Douglasville, GA, as its new account manager. He will facilitate the sale of Michigan apples in retail stores. Mike Bardon of Grand Ledge, MI, also works for MAC in this capacity.
Rene Millburn named PR director of King Fresh
King Fresh Produce LLC, based in Dinuba, CA, recently announced Rene Millburn as its new public relations director. Millburn will be based in the company’s Midwest office, located just outside Kansas City, MO.
Pacific AgPak introduces new strategies in packaging that could ease loading
Pacific AgPak, a packaging company that provides clamshells and other packaging materials and related services to the strawberry industry, has several new “packaging strategies” that the company has either introduced recently or will soon launch, according to President Dave Baum.
One of these is a high cube packaging program, designed to increase the amount of fruit that can be loaded on a truck per cubic foot of trailer space by 33 percent.
‘Spoke and hub’ distribution key for Market Fresh Vidalias
Market Fresh Produce LLC has been involved in marketing sweet onions for six years. After tomatoes, the sweet onion category is a key “driver” for the firm, according to the firm’s Tyler Phipps, director of field operations. Sweet potatoes are a third category driver for Market Fresh.
“We handle a tremendous volume” of onions 52 weeks a year, he said. Within the sweet onion category, Vidalia onions are of course key.