Mike Kamphaus promoted to VP of market development for Supervalu's Eastern region
Mike Kamphaus has been promoted to vice president of market development for the Eastern region at Supervalu. He will report to Kevin Kemp, Eastern region president for the retail chain.
Mr. Kamphaus has extensive experience in the grocery industry with over 20 years in retail management, procurement, category management and sales.
Rail feasibility study launched for Central Coast ag industry
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted July 22 to match the city of Salinas' investment in a rail-feasibility study that will be administered by the Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.
The county and city will each contribute $15,000 to a study that will evaluate the feasibility and industry interest in using rail carriers for the transport of agricultural products.
PMA holds town hall meeting on Salmonella outbreak
MONTEREY, CA -- Hatched just three weeks before the start of the Produce Marketing Association's 27th annual Foodservice Conference & Exposition, held here July 25-27, the conference added a town hall meeting to discuss the recent Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak.
PMA President Bryan Silbermann credited Tim York, president of Salinas, CA- based Markon Cooperative Inc., with coming up with the idea for the Saturday afternoon meeting.
Texas Produce Association postpones convention, ponders alternative dates and sites
Hurricane Dolly swept through South Padre Island on the southeast coast of Texas in late July causing water damage to many hotels -- including the Sheraton, which was scheduled to host the Texas Produce Association convention in late August.
"They've had some water damage and they are not going to be in service for at least a couple of months," said TPA President John McClung. "By that time, we will be in the midst of our citrus season, and a lot of people won't be able to come [down to the island]."
Fresh cilantro recall by NewStar proves unnecessary
SALINAS, CA -- NewStar Fresh Foods has been notified by the Michigan Department of Agriculture that a test result previously thought to be positive for Salmonella in a sample of fresh cilantro was found July 31 not to be a likely indicator of the presence of the pathogen, rendering unnecessary the national recall conducted July 30 by NewStar.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration immediately notified its California regional office, the California state Department of Health & Human Services and the Canadian Food Safety Agency.
Southern Specialties' COO moves into similar role at L&M
Gary James, chief operating officer of Southern Specialties in Pompano Beach, FL, has left that company to take a similar position with L&M Cos. Inc. in Raleigh, NC.
Southern Specialties announced Mr. James' resignation in a July 25 press release. He began his new position at L&M July 28 and will be based at the company's Raleigh headquarters.
Traceback worked as it should after Salmonella find on avocados
If the handling of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention several weeks ago was the fiasco that many in the industry claim it has been, the way state agencies in North Carolina and Texas and APEAM, the association of avocado growers in Michoacan, Mexico, handled a more recent detection of an unrelated strain of salmonella on avocados in a Charlotte, NC, warehouse is seen by some as a model of competency.
Mexican farm water and pepper test positive for Salmonella outbreak strain
A sample of Serrano pepper and irrigation water on the same Mexican farm tested positive for the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1,300 people.
As a result of the finding, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration expanded its consumer advisory to warn all consumers to avoid eating raw Serrano peppers from Mexico in addition to the raw Jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico.
Del Monte Fresh buyer wins Harley-Davidson 'Spudster'
Brenda Mowrey, a produce buyer for Del Monte Fresh in Kansas City, MO, has one more reason to love Wisconsin potatoes.
Ms. Mowrey won a new Harley-Davidson Sportster 883c -- the grand prize of an annual sweepstakes promotion sponsored by the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association.
HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE: CTGC publishes comprehensive review of research on health benefits of grapes
Whenever a commodity organization makes claims regarding the health benefits of its product, no matter how solid the science might be to support a "superfood" status for that product, I think one is naturally inclined to anticipate a certain degree of hyperbole and perhaps even a little spin to make the good news sound even better than it is.
I therefore naturally approached the California Table Grape Commission's new document titled The Health Potential of Grapes: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature, with a certain amount of healthy skepticism (as one rightly should).