Roduce Editorials News Today

Pacific Trellis Fruit, owner of the Dulcinea brand, has promoted two of its team members to leadership roles. Rob Markel has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president of sales-melon division, and Dan Carapella, Jr. to vice president of sales-fruit division.  These promotions reflect the organization’s strategy of delivering partner value, volume growth and reputation as a market leader.

Last year’s domestic apple crop is a tale of two seasons as weather conditions in major growing regions dictated significantly different results for orchards in the Northwest and Northeast. The extreme heat in late summer and overall challenging weather conditions in Washington caused a significant 20 percent drop in volume to a 100 million case crop. This shortfall created supply challenges for retailers who typically rely heavily on fruit from the country’s largest apple growing region.

Born of necessity because of a Listeria outbreak in the apple industry, a Canadian-based company has developed and is offering a 30-second innovative waterless technology to kill up to 99.99 percent of pathogens on virtually any fruit or vegetable.

ORLANDO, FL — The Southeast Produce Council held its 2023 Southern Exposure conference and trade show March 2-4, here. The event was successful on all fronts. Retailers, attendees and exhibitors were in full force on the show floor as the hustle and bustle lasted from the ribbon-cutting until the closing bell.

The Kroger Co. announced a more than $770 million incremental investment in its associates during 2023. The company will use this investment to raise average hourly rates, improve healthcare options and build new training and development opportunities.

The Southeastern Produce Council kicked off a morning of educational sessions with “The Prime Directive: Food Waste & Nutrition Insecurity.” Hosting the conversation was moderator Pete Pearson, global initiative lead of food circulatory at the World Wildlife Fund, who set an important tone for the morning reminding the audience that an estimated 30-40 percent of food goes to waste and represents the largest category of material placed in landfills.

ORLANDO, FL — The theme of the Southeast Produce Council's 2023 Southern Exposure conference and trade show was "Produce, the final frontier," inspired by the popular "Star Trek" television shows and movies. And after talking with SEPC executives, exhibitors, sponsors and attendees, their impression of the event, held here March 2-4, may be summed up in two words: mission accomplished.

Double Date Packing supports stores in merchandising high-quality dates to shoppers through innovative packaging options and in-store materials. “Dates are becoming very popular,” said Hope Barbee, vice president of sales for the Coachella, CA-based company. “On Instagram and Facebook, they are trending and showing different ways to eat them. We want to give consumers convenient ways to get their dates.”

The strawberry season just got a bit sweeter with Naturipe Farms’ debut of its Mighty Reds strawberries, which come bigger in size, taste and sweetness. These high-quality jumbo berries provide endless eating possibilities for any strawberry lover.

ORLANDO, FL —Former NFL coach and Super Bowl winner Bruce Arians was the featured speaker at the Southern Flavor Cocktail reception March 2, here, during the Southeast Produce Council Southern Exposure convention. This was the third year for the Southern Flavor Cocktail reception, which celebrates Georgia Grown agriculture. The event featured a Q&A session with Arians, moderated by Tampa Bay radio personality TJ Rives.