The proposal, published in September, aims to reduce the time it takes to trace contamination issues from consumer to source.
Public comments on the rule are due by Feb. 22. But in order to make a comment, the public needs to understand what is being proposed.
Emily Griep, the food safety manager at the United Fresh Produce Association, discussed the proposed rule Feb. 8 during the virtual Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention.
Currently, investigations of contaminated foods take a lot of time. The FDA has to find convergence points from multiple retail locations before the grower can be identified.
âIf you have multiple legs leading back to multiple distributors, multiple growers, multiple fields, it does take up valuable time that could be used to determine the source of the contamination,â Griep said. âUltimately, FDAâs goal is to reduce the time that it takes in an outbreak investigation to go from the consumer â the people who became ill â
Greater volume of imported papaya on the way
Supplies of imported papaya are likely to soon start increasing.
“The supplies of papaya have been steady. It was a little low at the start of the year,” says Edgar Millan of Caraveo Papayas in the Bronx, NY. “But as the weather gets better and the days get longer, we start having a little bit more product to harvest and that helps. This started just a few weeks ago.” He adds that when the temperature drops, papaya doesn’t ripen making it difficult to harvest. “But now everybody is getting more volume and shipping more.”
United Fresh launches annual compensation survey
The United Fresh Produce Association has launched its 2021 Compensation Survey for the fresh produce industry. The data collected will be published in a research report that will assist produce industry employers in understanding compensation benchmarks.
“In these precarious times, it’s crucial to have reliable data and benchmarks to inform our decisions,” said United Fresh’s finance and business management council chairman Mike McGee, L&M Companies. “Broad industry participation in this year’s survey will lead to a robust report and provide industry employers with reliable metrics to ensure they are offering competitive compensation.”
Secretary Vilsack receives unanimous support of the Senate Agriculture Committee
A confirmation hearing for Former Secretary Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of USDA in President Biden s cabinet has provided Vilsack with unanimous support. United Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Tom Stenzel issued the following statement regarding the confirmation hearing for Former Secretary Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of USDA:
“Congratulations to Secretary Vilsack for being unanimously supported by the Senate Agriculture Committee, now moving his nomination to the Senate floor. Secretary Vilsack has the experience needed to lead the agency in a difficult time and is keenly aware of the need to maintain and build a healthy fresh fruit and vegetable industry, while delivering our most nutritious products to Americans and consumers around the world.
February 1, 2021
Canada-based Group Courchesne Larose announced the nomination of Danny Dumas as president of Courchesne Larose USA to oversee the company’s interests and investments in the United States and abroad. In the United States, the group produces and markets fresh and healthy conventional and organic produce under the Green Earth Produce The Organic Label brand and is a partner in Vineland, NJ-based Dandrea Produce. Group Courchesne Larose also has investments in Central America and South America.
Most recently, Dumas spent 22 years at Del Monte Fresh Produce, holding various positions in Canada, the United States and Europe. He began his produce industry career in 1989 with Dole Fresh Fruit Co.