Pacific AgPak launches several new packaging options, including the ‘Freight Buster’
“Pacific AgPak has been providing packaging options for its loyal customers for over 20 years,” said Dave Baum, president of Pacific AgPak in Watsonville, CA. “We have developed and mainstreamed a lot of different pack styles for strawberries. With the development of the first PET [Polyethylene terephthalate] one-pound clamshell, and the first club store four-pound clamshell, we have now turned our attention to our growers and retailers request in developing several new programs.”
I Love Produce expects, some day, to ship California garlic to China
Chinese garlic in the U.S. market has been a source of frustration for California garlic growers for a number of years, particularly when prices for Chinese garlic in the U.S. market has been below the cost of domestic production.
But Jim Provost, founder and managing partner of I Love Produce in Kelton, PA, which markets garlic from both China and California, as well as other producing areas, foresees a time when California garlic can be exported to China.
Produce for Kids along with grocery stores and Sprout encourage healthy eating, help local schools
This fall, Produce for Kids and select grocery stores will be launching the Healthy Schools, Healthy Minds campaign to raise money for local health- and nutrition-based classroom projects in each of the participating retailers’ markets through DonorsChoose.org. In addition, Produce for Kids will be continuing its partnership with Sprout, the 24-hour preschool television channel.
Mike Pirrone Produce president dies in tragic accident
Henry A. DeBlouw, president of Mike Pirrone Produce Inc. in Capac, MI, died in a tragic accident Aug. 15 at the company's cooler. He was 49.
Brigitte Rogowski, a long-time employee of the company, told The Produce News that Mr. DeBlouw was attempting to adjust the cooler temperature at the electrical box and was accidentally electrocuted.
California calls for more buyer scrutiny of local cantaloupes
California melon growers are clearly frustrated after the second straight year of seeing their market potentially damaged because of food-safety issues far from the fields in the Golden State.
This time of year, California is the major supplier of cantaloupes, honeydews and other melons, but this is also the time of year when regional and local deals are in full swing.
Chef Tom Carlin giving new life to New Jersey’s historic Gladstone Tavern
The newly renovated Gladstone Tavern is a shining star in Gladstone, NJ.Gladstone Tavern in Gladstone, NJ, was built in 1847 as a farmhouse.
FDA identifies Chamberlain Farms as Indiana farm tied to Salmonella outbreak
Owensville, IN-based Chamberlain Farms is recalling cantaloupe in connection to a Salmonella outbreak that has caused 178 illnesses and two deaths, the Food and Drug Administration announced late Aug. 22.
As early as Aug. 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an Indiana farm was withdrawing product from the marketplace in connection to the outbreak, but it took until Aug. 22 for the company’s name to be identified.
Solar installation pays dividends for Thomas Produce
After cashing a check last month from the local utility company for creating more power than he used, Chuck Thomas, president of Thomas Produce Sales Inc. in Nogales, AZ, is scratching his head trying to figure out why his was one of the first produce warehouses to install solar panels in the area.
“I was very surprised that nobody else had done it,” he said. “Especially last year when the tax incentives were so great.”
Spice World to offer organic Squeeze Garlic in a smaller size
Spice World Inc. in Orlando, FL, which introduced a processed garlic product it calls Squeeze Garlic a year or so ago in a 20-ounce bottle.
Squeeze Garlic is minced garlic in a convenient, easy-to-use squeeze bottle.
“We are always doing new things,” said Louis Hymel, director of purchasing. Now “we are packing a nine-and-a half-ounce size of the Squeeze Organic, which is a new product for us.”
In addition, the company is now doing “a squeeze garlic packed in extra virgin olive oil, which really accents that product well,” he said.
QPMA recognizes Nelson Lachance as Pillar of the Quebec Industry
GATINEAU, QC — Nelson Lachance was honored as a QPMA Pillar of the Quebec Industry during the final banquet at the 65th annual QPMA convention, held here Aug. 16-18. Mr. Lachance’s look back at key moments in his 50 years in the produce industry highlighted key mentors that supported him along the way.