PMA's Produce Solutions Conference to explore the trillion-dollar consumer market
The Produce Marketing Association's Produce Solutions Conference, Consumer Trends '07, will be held March 22-24 in Charlotte, NC. The three- day conference is designed to give executives representing every segment of the supply chain the opportunity to focus on ways to target new consumer segments -- namely, moms, kids and the affluent.
With moms spending more than $1.6 trillion, kids influencing $146 billion in spending and the affluent averaging $3.1 million in net worth, there is considerable wealth to be spent among these target markets in this year alone.
Brooks Tropicals promotes Rossignoli
Brooks Tropicals Inc. in Homestead, FL, announced the promotion of Jose E. Rossignoli to director of national sales. For the past two years, he had been an assistant to Neal (Pal) Brooks, president.
Since joining the firm, Mr. Rossignoli has been involved in the planning of the firm's papaya operations in Belize as well as the "SlimCado" avocado operations in southern Florida.
United board addresses food safety issue
United Fresh Produce Association released the following letter Jan. 23 from Co-Chairmen Maureen Marshall and Mark Miller.
None of us can deny that our fresh produce industry faces a different business world today than we did six months ago. We have all been impacted by the recent food safety issues in our industry. Each time any fruit or vegetable is implicated in a foodborne illness outbreak, we all suffer from lost consumer confidence in our industry as a whole. In the long run, this is simply not sustainable and certainly not acceptable.
Marketing agreement appears to be on the way
MONTEREY, CA -- A voluntary marketing agreement for handlers of green leafy vegetables in California appears to be on its way to becoming a reality following a state hearing held Friday, Jan. 12 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, here.
Immigration issues to figure prominently at COA meeting
The Colorado Onion Association will hold its annual meeting Jan. 25 in Greeley, CO, and like many other segments of the produce industry, immigration is a key issue for those involved in the Colorado onion deal. "Immigration is something in the back of everyone's minds," said Tanya Fell, executive director of the association.
Carol A. Hildebrand, an attorney who practices immigration and nationality law in the business and real estate department of Sherman & Howard LLC in Denver, will be the keynote speaker at the meeting.
Taco John's outbreak probe leads to California dairy farms
WASHINGTON -- Another California grower appears to be the focus of the Taco John's E. coli outbreak as samples from two adjacent dairy farms matched the bacteria that sickened more than 80 people last year.
Brazil seeks to export irradiated fruits to U.S.
If approved by U.S. authorities, irradiated fruits from Brazil would be economical to ship, since the irradiation benefit of longer shelf life means that shippers could use sea freight rather than more costly air transportation.
George Karski, president of Securefoods Inc., a food irradiation company, is setting up food irradiators in Brazil to treat papayas and mangos for the U.S. market. Despite being a top producer of fruits and vegetables, Brazil's post- harvest losses are significant because of insect infestation and rot, he said.
Prime Produce International continues in growth mode
Prime Produce International LLC announced a new retail and foodservice account manager and a new 40,000-square-foot packing and cold-storage facility in Orange, CA.
PPI has named Michelle Spelman to the position of retail and foodservice account manager. Ms. Spelman has been employed in the avocado industry for over 15 years, most recently as marketing director at the California Avocado Commission.
Sundia sweetens its lineup
Having become one of the larger watermelon growers and one of the faster- growing produce brands in its first year of operation, San Francisco-based Sundia Corp. has set its sights on several new offerings, including mangos, onions and tomatoes.
Mission Ranches and McKinsey Farms combine operations
Mission Ranches Co. LLC and Sam McKinsey Farms LLC, two long-standing farming companies on California's Central Coast, are combining operations in order to meet growing consumer demand and pursue new market opportunities.
The merger will allow both companies to improve efficiency and quality across a broader production base and to streamline parallel administrative and management functions. The combined company will be known as Mission Ranches Co. LLC and will be based in King City, CA.