Page 95 - Roduce Editorials News Today

The team at Red Sun Farms could not be more excited to meet with its retailers at Southern Innovations. “We are committed to supporting our partners in the new year and beyond,” said Leona Neill, director of marketing and packaging for the Kingsville, ON-based company. “Our aim is to exceed their expectations now and in the future. Red Sun Farms is focused on delivering great-tasting, quality produce year-round. We will also continue developing sustainable solutions to align our business w...

The Nickey Gregory Co. is gearing up for the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Innovations show, something it has done every year since the show originated as a fall conference in 2001.

Publix Super Markets is promoting of a new officer, Monica Allman, as two of its leaders, Gino DiGrazia and Linda Kane, have announced their retirement. DiGrazia began his Publix career in 1992 as manager of business analysis and reporting in Lakeland, FL. In 1997, he was promoted to director and to vice president and controller in 2002. In 2012, he was named vice president of finance.   

The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed an administrative complaint against Burbano Corp., doing business as CasaBella Farms Corp., for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Florida, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to four produce sellers in the amount of $385,084 from March 2020 through September 2021.

Now that the extreme heat has cooled down in the various growing areas, change is in the air as the fall season has arrived. Soon it will be transition time as some crops move to the desert region for the winter. But before all that takes place, there is still plenty of produce available and worth promoting in ad programs.

MountainKing launched a re-brand of one of its popular, gourmet varietals with the introduction of its Butter Cream Potatoes, available in three-pound poly mesh bags. Formerly branded as Butter Russets, the newly named Butter Cream Potatoes better aligns with the qualities of the high-flavor, yellow-flesh variety known for its natural buttery and creamy flavor, said Andreas Trettin, marketing director for MountainKing.

In years gone by, U.S. importers of Peruvian asparagus would often compete, touting the freshness of their product because they brought the product into the United States via air rather than ocean.  That is rarely the case today as ocean shipments dominate the space. “Ten years ago, 10 percent of the volume was shipped by ocean and 90 percent by air,” said Walter Yager, president of Alpine Fresh. “This year, I expect 80 percent by ocean and 20 percent by air.”

The pandemic changed a lot of things, not the least of which was the way consumers shop. The likes of Amazon had already made online shopping an everyday event; the pandemic simply sped things up — especially when it comes to buying food. Now, almost three years later, food retailers are still behind in developing integrated, seamless and personalized experiences across all channels, so says the 2022 Grocery Omnichannel Retail Index findings, recently released by OSF Digital, in partnership wi...

During the first pandemic year of 2020, U.S. consumers increased their per capita consumption of asparagus by 4 percent, with all that increase, and then some, coming from fresh channels. For 2020, the last year for which total consumption statistics are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita consumption in the United States increased to just shy of two pounds at 1.98 pounds. “Per capita consumption is still increasing,” said Priscilla Lleras, director of the Peruvian ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA. The following businesses and in...