Garden Fresh Salad Co. processing side continues to grow with higher demand
Garden Fresh Salad Co. Inc., located at the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, specializes in California vegetables, and it handles a full line of value-added prepared products for restaurants, caterers and retailers.
“Our processing plant is located here in Chelsea,” said Patrick Burke, sales and purchasing representative for the company. “We handle pretty much every type of vegetable. The foodservice sector represents the largest customer base for our processed product. We’ve been processing one type of product or another for over 40 years.”
Innovation is key to produce industry growth, says Silbermann
NEW ORLEANS -- In his annual State of the Industry address, Bryan Silbermann, president and chief executive officer of the Produce Marketing Association, worked hard to conjure up the image of the late technological wizard Steve Jobs of computer fame.
Dressed in Mr. Jobs' identifiable all-black attire, Silbermann began with a joke on that subject and he referred to the Apple founder very early in his talk. All of this was seemingly well-planned to focus the audience's attention on Mr. Jobs' greatest asset: innovation.
Church Bros. strengthens staff
Church Bros. has named Brian Jameson as vice president of agriculture operations, hired a new sales assistant and promoted another employee to the role of purchasing manager.
Jameson, a California State University-Chico graduate, will manage the replenishment and scheduling activities for Church Bros.’ processing partner True Leaf Farms and help manage the strategic sourcing strategy for the company.
It’sFresh! named Best First-Time Exhibitor at Fresh Summit
It’sFresh!, a technology innovations company delivering breakthrough solutions for food freshness, won the Best First-Time Exhibitor Award at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit Convention & Expo in New Orleans. The company was showcasing its unique ethylene-removal technology, which extends the shelf life and quality of produce by as many as three days in store. The technology is currently rolling out in major retailers in the United States as well as abroad.
Growth in McDaniel Fruit’s Mexican program
McDaniel Fruit Co. in Fallbrook, CA, expects to “follow the flow of the industry” regarding the growth of its Mexican avocado program, as demand for Hass avocados in the U.S. market continues to climb, according to Rankin McDaniel Sr., president of the company.
“Our Mexican program is growing as the Mexican avocado reaches more and more markets,” he said Oct. 21.
Food waste deserves more attention, says Fresh Summit panel
NEW ORLEANS -- By some accounts, as much as 50 percent of the food grown or produced for consumption in the United States is lost or wasted along the way.
While almost half of those losses come at the consumer level, the other half is "wasted" along the supply chain, which means there are great opportunities to reduce that number for both the benefit of the bottom line and to feed those in this country that are less fortunate.
Trucco expects supplies in time for holiday pull
There have been some challenges this year getting some holiday items into the warehouse as early in the season as usual, according to Salvatore (Sal) Vacca, president of A.J. Trucco Inc. in New York City.
With several items, “we are having a problem getting merchandise at the moment,” Vacca said Oct. 11.
California production is cornerstone of Limoneira’s year-round citrus program
“We view California as the cornerstone of a year-round citrus program. Its quality position gives the marketplace confidence in flavor and consistency,” said Alex Teague, chief operating officer at Limoneira Co. in Santa Paula, CA, in a written statement to The Produce News Oct. 16.
“California is still viewed internationally for producing quality citrus,” he said.
Industry Viewpoint: Risk, communication, food safety — and a week in Italy
I spent a week in Rome at the end of August and loved every minute of it. But not for the reasons you might think.
I spent more than 35 hours that week in a conference room at the United Nation’s headquarters working with 12 other risk communication and food safety professionals from Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. We were recruited by the Food & Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization to draft a handbook on risk communication in food safety.
Railex hits milestone, set to open new Florida facility
NEW ORLEANS — Railex, which operates weekly unit trains that offer express five-day coast-to-coast service, recently shipped its 1,000th eastbound train and is celebrating its seventh year in business, according to Paul Esposito, executive vice president of network planning and government relations.
Esposito said that 1,000 trains is the equivalent of 142,000 truckloads, and the use of Railex's service helped save over 63 million gallons of diesel fuel and prevented more than 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere.