Ready Pac hires several senior sales pros
Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac Foods Inc., a premier producer of convenience fresh foods including fresh-cut produce, has hired several senior sales professionals and has announced a reorganization.
Long-time Philadelphia firm closes doors
Ellis Fleisher Produce Co., long a leader on the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, has closed its doors. As of April 24, the firm had not filed for bankruptcy protection and was working with suppliers to meet its obligations.
Another Philadelphia wholesaler who is intimately involved with the situation told The Produce News April 24, "Discovery is still going on and it's too early for anyone on this market to comment." He noted that any public discussion of the situation at the discovery stage could only make matters worse for creditors.
Al Gore cancels address at All Things Organic
Al Gore, a former vice president of the United States and Oscar winner for his "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary about global warming, has canceled his long-scheduled speaking engagement at next week's All Things Organic trade show and Conference in Chicago.
On Thursday, April 26, the Harry Walker Agency, which represents Vice President Gore, contacted the Food Marketing Institute to say that Mr. Gore canceled for "personal reasons," and no other information was given.
Companies settle with victims in spinach <i>E. coli</i> deaths
The families of three elderly women who died after eating spinach allegedly tainted with E. coli bacteria have reached a settlement with Natural Selection Foods, Mission Organics, Dole Food Co. and its subsidiary Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc.
The three women -- Betty Howard, 83, of Richland, WA; June Dunning, 86, of Hagerstown, MD; and Ruby Trautz, 81, of Bellevue, NE -- were hospitalized and later died of complications that their lawyer said could be traced back to the E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 200 people nationwide in August and September of 2006.
Litehouse to feature new organic products at United show
Litehouse Inc., based in Sandpoint, ID, plans to showcase its new organic products at this year's United Fresh Produce Association convention and trade show, dubbed United Fresh Marketplace.
Litehouse will exhibit in booth No. 9635 and will be represented by owners, a sales director and the marketing team, Director of Brand Marketing Paul Kusche told The Produce News.
The family-owned business markets a full line of salad dressings, dips, marinades and toppings throughout the United States and Canada to health- conscious citizens in both countries.
Former Wal-Mart exec reflects on career, looks to next challenge
While he applauds the industry's current efforts with regard to food safety initiatives, former Wal-Mart produce executive Bruce Peterson believes that at least the same amount of energy should be spent on developing a sophisticated trace-back program.
"The problem in my mind is not food safety. The problem is the consumer reaction to an isolated outbreak in a given commodity," he said.
Torture-test research proves Fit Fruit & Vegetable wash effective
New findings scheduled to be released during the FreshTech Produce Safety Summit prove that HealthPro Brands' Fit Fruit & Vegetable wash outperforms chlorine by killing 99.9999 percent of harmful bacteria in dirty processing water.
In the first test of its kind, a collaborative Washington State University and the University of Idaho study tested the effectiveness of Fit vs. chlorine dioxide to see whether either product provided a "kill step" of gram-negative bacteria (those associated with food-borne illnesses such as salmonella and E. coli) in dirty flume water.
Idaho-eastern Oregon onions integral part of Idaho conference
Two days worth of chef demonstrations at the American Culinary Federation Western Regional Conference in Couer d'Alene, ID, included one of the region's more prominent commodities, the Idaho-eastern Oregon onion.
According to Sherise Jones, marketing director for the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee based in Parma, ID, the event was held April 15-17 and was coordinated by Idaho Preferred, a state branding promotional division of the Idaho Department of Agriculture.
Industry center stage at NEPC expo
BOSTON -- The theme of "Hollywood Days/Hollywood Nights" was quite appropriate for this year's New England Produce Council Produce & Floral Expo, April 25 here at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, as it was the produce industry that took center stage at the annual event.
California pear growers vote to expand state marketing order
Members of the California Pear Advisory Board received word in mid-April that the state's pear growers had overwhelmingly approved the expansion of the California pear-marketing program to all pear varieties produced in the state with the exception of Asian pears.