Page 165 - Roduce Editorials News Today

POM Wonderful is furthering its commitment to a sustainable future with the transition to 100 percent recycled plastic bottles and shifting more than 90 percent of its electricity needs to renewable energy. 

Consalo Family Farms is a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper, importer, and distributor and has been in the produce industry since 1927. The family-run company grows a full line of produce in New Jersey.

Uber Technologies Inc. and Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. are teaming up to pilot on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery. Starting this week, 72 Grocery Outlet stores across California, Oregon, and Washington — including in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale — are available to shop through Uber and Uber Eats. With this partnership customers will be able to get their Grocery Outlet must-haves delivered on-demand, right to their door.

“This year is shaping up very nicely,” Michael D’Ottavio, president of D’Ottavio Farms, based in Vineland, NJ, said the first week in May. “Even though the weather is a little cooler than normal, everything is growing very nicely this season. I’m seeing a much stronger demand for fruits and vegetables this spring, and we are ready for it.”

New Bloom Solutions and Above All Flowers have brought the floral industry The Bloom Show, a show that covers everything about floriculture. With many exciting discussions and shows in the past, the latest panel discussion, “Cold Chain Logistics Roundtable,” is set to be another great one.

In January of 2022, the New Jersey legislature did what few states have done, passing a law defining what local means regarding New Jersey fruits and vegetables. In the Garden State, if a retailer labels fresh produce as local, locally grown or implies that it is local using similar language, that product must have been grown in New Jersey. New Jersey consumers can now shop for produce and when they see local, they will know where it was grown.

Ronald Bown, the face of the Chilean fruit industry for more than three decades, is transitioning to retirement. Following a long and detailed selection process, the board of directors of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association A.G. appointed Iván Marambio Castaño as the new chairman of the ASOEX board.  

On May 14, a gunman at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo killed 10 people and wounded three others. In partnership with Tops, the National Compassion Fund has established the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund to provide direct financial assistance to the survivors of the deceased and those directly affected by this tragedy. Tops seeded this Survivors Fund with $500,000 to get it started. Other retailers, including Southeastern Grocers and Big Y, have contributed to the fund as well.

Joe Vargas has been hired as the director of business intelligence for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and North American Blueberry Council. In this newly created role, Vargas is responsible for developing and leading a best-in-class data and insights program for the blueberry industry.

SAVRpak announced the launch of SAVRpak Drop-In, a moisture-control technology that extends the shelf life and freshness of produce up to four times. It does this by eradicating condensation, the No. 1 cause of premature molding, wilting and spoilage of peel-less and packaged produce, including berries, leafy greens and mini cucumbers. Successful trials have been completed with Divine Flavor, RCG Fruits and Agrovision, and Frubana is also testing the solution.