Page 43 - Roduce Editorials News Today

“Prime Time has had tremendous success with our existing product lines and the company is continuing on a positive track as a result,” said Katy Johnson, purchasing & marketing manager for Prime Time.      Johnson added, “Over the past few years, we have fine-tuned what works and what doesn’t. That involves making minor adjustments here and there, but no major overhauls.” 

Unique flavor and availability set Pazazz apart each year, and this year is no different. Even with the challenging apple supply from Washington, this is the best Pazazz crop on record. Customers and retailers who have come to enjoy the sweet/tangy flavor and explosive crunch, can expect consistent flavor throughout the winter and spring months and appreciate the fact that Pazazz apples are grown closer to home.

Four Star Fruit, a premier full-service grower and marketer of year-round table grapes, is finishing the California grape season strong and transitioning to the Peruvian and Chilean import season, beginning harvest this month.

Lettuce markets are declining, yet still in record-breaking territory as the USDA reported iceberg to be sold for at an average of $74. Overall, prices are down about 10 percent versus last week, primarily due to increasing supply. “Much of the fall season has been marked by abnormally high prices, most notably for commodities such as lettuce and strawberries,” said Mark Campbell, founder and CEO of ProduceIQ. “Now, increased availability from domestic growers, as well as Mexican productio...

SpartanNash has partnered with one of the world's leading fresh food technology companies, Afresh Technologies. SpartanNash will pilot the Afresh platform, an Artificial Intelligence-powered predictive ordering and inventory management solution, at 10 of its owned Family Fare grocery stores in the Grand Rapids, MI, area.

NatureSweet donated 8 million pounds of produce to food banks throughout North America in 2022. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are among the produce donations to food banks in the United States and Mexico. While the company is one of the top-selling brands in snacking tomatoes, it also continues to drive tremendous growth in other vegetable categories and estimates the donations this year translate into almost $8 million worth of produce.

The I Love Produce team spent a week inspecting the new crop garlic coming into the harvest season in Mendoza, Argentina, and got a dose of the World Cup and soccer culture to boot. Jim Provost and Sebastian Zamores spent a week visiting their garlic suppliers in Mendoza, which happened to coincide with Argentina’s quarterfinal World Cup match against the Netherlands.

Matt Miles, a long-time organic salesman in the Washington apple industry, died Dec. 7. He was 49. A 27-year veteran of the apple industry Mr. Miles made a name for himself in organic apple sales dating back to 1997 with a variety of companies like FirstFruits Marketing and L&M Northwest.

The Texas International Produce Association announced Charlie Jabaley as the 2023 Viva Fresh Expo keynote speaker. With more than 8 million followers on social media Jabaley, also known as Charlie Rocket, will be raising the roof as headliner of Viva Fresh being held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, T, March 30–April 1, 2023.

In very early 2023, Agri-Packing Supply Inc. will open its new facility in southern Arizona, significantly expanding the capacity of its cooling and logistics business. “This new facility will add 200,000 square feet to our existing capacity,” said Sales Executive Jorge Ruiz, adding that the facility is in the Rio Rico Industrial Park in Nogales. “We are very excited to welcome new partners into this facility.”