Wholesum Harvest implements Fair Trade certified organic produce
Wholsum Harvest, a Nogales-based organic grower and shipper of West Mexico and Arizona’s most popular winter vegetable items, is now implementing Fair Trade certified organic produce.
Fair Trade certified’s mantra is focused on compensation and safe working conditions for every Wholsum Harvest grower.
Its commitment to fair trade, fair labor practices, equitable compensation and environmental sustainability has earned Wholesum Harvest a Fair Trade certification by Fair Trade USA — the country’s leading third-party fair trade certifier.
Rene Produce takes ‘leadership role’ in food safety and PTI
At Rene Produce LLC in Nogales, AZ, “we have really taken food safety extremely seriously, because we want to make sure that our customers and the consumers feel comfortable with our products,” said Mark Cassius, vice president of sales and marketing. “We take a lot of pride in what we have done” and have always tried “to take a step ahead, before it became a requirement.”
Food safety is “always a concern,” and customers expect it, he said. But “we don’t necessarily have those conversations day-to-day” because people know that “we have taken a leadership role in the industry.”
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools partners with Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States announced its donation of salad bars to seven public schools in Washington, DC, in Wards 7 and 8. The donation was announced at an event at Burrville Elementary School.
Kaiser Permanente's donation builds on its commitment to improving the health and wellness of children in Wards 7 and 8 communities and supports Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools. The salad bars will benefit 2,300 students by increasing their access to fresh fruits and vegetables at school lunch.
Valley citrus growers prepared for cold temperatures
Citrus growers in California's San Joaquin Valley were prepared last night for subfreezing temperatures, which fell to predicted lows within the citrus-producing areas of Kern, Tulare, and Fresno counties.
Growers starting running water as early as last weekend to saturate the ground in preparation for this cold snap, which is expected to continue through Saturday morning. In most areas warmer ground temperatures added extra crop protection, allowing wind machines to create an inversion layer and raise grove temperatures above critical levels.
Proposal would consolidate Washington tree fruit organizations
Industry comment is currently being solicited to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating four organizations representing Washington's tree fruit industry.
"The public comment period will end on Jan. 10," West Mathison, an at-large member of the consolidation task force told The Produce News Dec. 5. "We [are looking] for phone, email and face-to-face comments."
Future looks 'peachy' for some Florida citrus growers as new crop makes inroads into old groves
While all Florida citrus growers have had to battle greening disease over the past decade with shrinking annual production, some are finding a way to take a tough situation and turn it just peachy.
Greening (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB) affects production in bearing groves, and the only solution for a severely infected grove is destruction. Florida has lost thousands of acres of citrus groves over the past decade — prime agricultural land sitting fallow.
Peter Jurado joins Epic Produce Sales
Epic Produce Sales, based in Phoenix, added PETER JURADO to its sales team.
At Epic Produce, Jurado specializes in product for export and handles all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the United States.
Bushwick Commission offering high quality, value and service
“Our continued goal is to offer customers potatoes that have traveled the least amount of miles, are of high quality, give retailers value and savings and provide the service that today’s consumers are searching out,” Ken Gray, vice president of sales and marketing for the Bushwick Commission in Farmingdale, NY, told The Produce News.
Gray said that the company feels that having a variety of package options gives it an edge. It continues to ship more three-pound packages to its customers.
Customized Brokers expects growth in Chile production this year
“According to some of our customers, overall blueberry exports are expected to increase from last year even though Chile suffered a series of frosts that affected a large part of the blueberry growing area,” said Nelly Yunta, vice president of sales, marketing and customer care, liner and logistics business groups for Crowley Maritime Corp. in Jacksonville, FL, and vice president of Customized Brokers, the customs brokerage and consulting division located in Miami. “These weather events caused damage, and some growers lost most of their production.
Key Food opens 150th store, introduces new banner
Key Food Stores Co-operative Inc., a chain of independently owned and operated grocery stores, announced the grand opening of its 150th location and introduce a new banner into its supermarket family: Urban Market.
Urban Market can best be described as a hybrid boutique supermarket, creating a unique shopping experience that intertwines full selections of both conventional and specialty items.