WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed an administrative complaint under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) against Spiech Farms LLC.
According to a press release, the company, operating from Michigan, allegedly failed to make payment to 38 produce sellers in the amount of $1,153,442 from July 2017 through November 2017.
Spiech Farms LLC will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry for two years. Furthermore, its principals could not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee for one year and then only with the posting of a USDA approved surety bond.
The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers, and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,400 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 8,500 callers with issues valued at approximately $151 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
AVONDALE, PA - Meatless Mondays are now an everyday affair as more shoppers head to the produce aisle in search of healthy alternatives to their culinary necessities. These days, the name of the game is mushrooms, and To-Jo Mushrooms’ latest foodservice and retail product launch is giving consumers even more ways to substitute produce all over the plate.
I caught up with Tony D’Amico, President, to find out more about the company’s new Pulled Port® product, available starting today!
“At To-Jo, we love offering our customers products that have versatility. Pulled Port allows chefs to enhance how they already use mushrooms by giving classic dishes a more unique twist,” Tony D’Amico, President, told me. “With the rising demand for vegetarian and plant-based options, we are excited that this product gives us the opportunity to engage with chefs in this emerging category.”
The value-added Pulled Port combines both portabella and white mushrooms to create a tender, flavorful product that looks, cooks, and satisfies like meat as a means to meet the ever-increasing demand for vegetarian dining experiences that even veg-skeptics will enjoy. Available in four delicious flavors with a unique texture and appearance, like Original, BBQ, Carnitas, and Philly, Pulled Port can be served as the star of the plate or as a bonus addition to a variety of menu items, like sandwiches, salads, poutine, nachos, and more.
“The collaboration that took place between Marketing, Sales, QA, and Operations was incredible throughout the development process. We really took our time on this project to give ourselves the best chance at success, and so far the product feedback has exceeded our expectations,” Tony revealed to me.
The launch of Pulled Port will be supported by a new landing page on To-Jo.com and through a variety of product application videos, featuring product handling instructions, portioning information, and recipes like BBQ Pulled Port Sliders, Pulled Port Bahn Mi, and Pulled Port Cheesesteaks, on To-Jo’s #kitchenliveseries social media platform.
For foodservice, Pulled Port is packed in high barrier pouches with an extended refrigerated shelf life.
For more of the latest on convenient, sustainable, and delicious new fruit and vegetable products hitting retail and foodservice this season, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
SALINAS, CA - One of the best things about attending produce conferences is seeing the innovative new products. For those attending this month’s PMA Fresh Summit, you’re in for a treat. Church Brothers Farms will launch products and new packaging at the PMA Fresh Summit in Orlando at booth #3851 in the Salinas Valley Grower Shipper Pavilion.
The company will share four new products at the show, beginning with its Baby Tango Greens for deli, wholesale, and foodservice channels.
“Tango greens feature an oak shaped leaf with curled edges that give the tender green variety its signature look. The three-dimensional leaves add texture and loft to any plate application,” said Kori Tuggle, Vice President of Marketing. “The Baby Tango leaves are bite size, making the product versatile for use in salads or as sandwich toppers.”
In addition to Baby Tango Greens, Church Brothers will also offer a 1 lb bag of washed and ready-to-use parsley for retail customers; a 2 lb clamshell of baby kale blend for retail customers; and baby romaine for retail, wholesale, and foodservice customers.
“We put some of our best-selling salad blends and whole leaves in a clear, extra-large clamshell to stand out among craft cartons in foodservice inventory or offer a larger size at retail,” Tuggle said in a company press release. “Fresh Summit is where we show how we continuously expand our product line to meet our customers’ needs for inventory management solutions, labor savings and menu ingredient innovation.”
Church Brothers Farms will also debut new packaging at Fresh Summit, highlighting new restaurant retail cartons for Tuscan Spring Mix, Wild Arugula, Spring Mix, and Baby Spinach along with new retail display ready cartons for club store customers.
See you at PMA Fresh Summit!
CALIFORNIA - As erstwhile-Hurricane Rosa heads inland toward the Southwest, the Golden State is about to be beset by a trailing storm—bringing the first measurable rainfall since May to many areas along the California coast.
The storm is expected to bring rainfall to Northern and Central California this Tuesday before pressing on into Southern California in the middle of the week. Heavy rainfall is expected to touchdown on the Central Coast and may bring up to an inch of rain to the corridor between San Francisco and Santa Maria.
“This would be the first measurable rain since May 21 for Downtown Los Angeles and May 25 for San Francisco,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Maggie Samuhel noted in a report.“Farther inland, Fresno has not received measurable rain since mid-April.”
Meanwhile, a flagging Hurricane Rosa will progress past Baja California by mid-week and is expected to bring rainfall—and potentially, mudslides and flash flooding—to the Southwest as it progresses into Arizona Tuesday. By then, Rosa—which is now considered to be a Tropical Storm—is expected to be downgraded to a “tropical rainstorm.”
Early season rains in California are also expected to provide relief from the wildfires that have traversed the state throughout the arid summer season.
For more as the season progresses, keep reading AndNowUKNow.
BRENTWOOD, MO - Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is encouraging every age group to enjoy their fruits and veggies and to bring their palate for produce with them as they age. During Active Aging Week (September 23-29) and Fruits and Veggies-More Matters® Month, PBH hosted two digital events that addressed research and solutions to inspire more consumers to eat their fruits and vegetables.
“Historically, adults over 50 have been the most faithful and prolific consumers of fruits and vegetables. When we learned that older Americans were eating fewer fruits and vegetables, we were surprised and immediately knew we had to help reverse this course,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, PBH’s President and CEO, whose mission is to increase Americans’ daily consumption of fruit and vegetables for better health and well-being. “We started to dig deeper and collaborate with our partners to identify ways to counter this trend and help this population live healthier and happier lives.”
Research from PBH shows adults 50+ have demonstrated double-digit declines in their fruit and vegetable intake at all three main meals, including a 12-percent decrease in vegetable consumption and 11-percent decrease in fruit consumption, according to a press release. Overall, fewer people consume fruit at any time of the day or with desserts and consume one less serving of vegetables each week, per capita, due to less veggie-based side dishes.
PBH touched on these research findings—as well as recent consumer data and resources focused on closing the consumption gap among older Americans—during its two Active Aging Week events.
The first event was a Tweet Chat, hosted by Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, CSSD, LDN, founder of Active Eating Advice, that allowed industry partners, health professionals, and consumers to participate in a #MoreMatters discussion.
The second event included a one-hour consumer research webinar, Getting Better with Age (Hint: Start by Eating Fruits and Vegetables!), that featured nutrition expert and PBH food and nutrition communications consultant, Shelley Maniscalco, MPH, RDN, and Alex Lewin-Zwerdling, PhD, of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. During the webinar, Maniscalco and Zwerdling discussed produce consumption trends, PBH’s research conducted in partnership with the AARP Foundation, insights about older Americans’ health and nutrition knowledge, concerns and purchasing behaviors like online shopping, and more.
“Active Aging Week was the perfect time to join forces with the IFIC Foundation and combine our consumer insights and expertise. During our webinar and tweet chat, we identified opportunities to reach older adults in strategic, meaningful ways and helped them increase their fruit and vegetable intake,” said Reinhardt Kapsak.
Throughout the month of September, PBH partnered with the Food Marketing Institute Foundation to create social and digital experiences to inspire families to prepare and share fruit and vegetable filled meals at home, as well as created resources and in-store programs for the industry to use with shoppers and consumers, available here.
For more of the latest produce news, keep following AndNowUKnow.
WASHINGTON, DC - News broke last Friday that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. will pay more than $34 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that the company’s senior leadership failed to adequately disclose risks regarding its ability to reach earnings goals.
“Over multiple reporting periods, senior Walgreens executives misled investors about the company’s public financial goal,” Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, said in the agency’s statement. “The penalty assessed against Walgreens is intended to punish and deter such conduct, which deprived investors of information necessary to make fully informed investment decisions.”
In The SEC’s statement that was released on Friday, the commission stated that the company, as well as former Chief Executive Officer Gregory Wasson and former Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon, misled investors about increased risk that Walgreens would miss a key financial target announced back in 2012, when the drugstore chain said it would merge with Alliance Boots.
As reported by Bloomberg, Walgreens initially said that by 2016, the combined entity would generate $9 billion to $9.5 billion in operating income and later reaffirmed the projection even after internal forecasts showed significant risk that the goal would be missed.
Walgreens and the executives agreed to resolve the SEC’s claims without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the company said in a statement. The statement also noted that the settlement does not involve any of Walgreens Boots Alliance’s current officers or executives, nor does it allege that anyone acted intentionally or recklessly at any time.
In addition to the company’s penalty, former executives Wasson and Miquelon each agreed to pay fines of $160,000.
For the latest in industry happenings, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
LONGWOOD, FL - Doug Kling, previous Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Village Farms International, Inc., recently launched his new organization Kling Strategic Partners LLC. The company has developed a new way to drive growth and deliver value to its clients and their partners, in the form of a new website. The website, which is already up and running, has a resourceful host of features that will help solidify the message Doug intends to share with the industry.
I recently had the chance to catch up with Doug and chat about the vision behind the website, and what it means for potential clients of Kling Strategic Partners.
“The website gives clients a better understanding of how we can build and enhance opportunities for profitable growth,” Doug begins, before diving into the tools the website shares with customers. “The new website shares a new proprietary concept known as Virtual Thinking™, based on logical patterns in strategy driven by new dynamics and expectations in the market. This concept has been developed from over thirty years of experiences with major global organizations and government institutions based on the original company founded in 1982 as Resource Network Associates Inc., now re-created and re-launched as Kling Strategic Partners LLC.”
The concept behind the Virtual Thinking feature was based on creating services, goods, and techniques that have no boundaries and confinements.
“Within this strategic logic we have created a platform based on an 8 P’s platform. These additional 4 P’s, added to what are commonly known as the 4 P’s of marketing, bring new dimensions and metrics in how we develop ourselves and our businesses in a world that changes in nano seconds versus days or years. These are truly exciting times. Einstein once said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.’”
As we’ve said before, the need for fresh strategic thinking and dynamic objectives is now. As I talk with Doug, he reminds me that Kling Strategic Partners LLC brings together a network of industry experts in both consumer products and agriculture representing a wide range of senior management experience. This experiential equity promises to bring insights while optimizing new opportunities in declining, flat, and growing markets. From seed to need, the team is focusing on consumer products and agriculture.
With the industry in mind, Doug and his team has several goals in terms of the user-experience, based on the needs of the client.
“However, one primary goal to consider and develop is how adaptable an organization is and can become to grow and expand during changing times,” Doug shares.“Charles Darwin once said, ‘It is not the strongest of the species that Survives but the most adaptable to change.’”
Before we end our chat, I want to know a little more about the four additional P’s that he’s created on top of the four P’s of marketing.
“It would take several hours to discuss the properties of these four new P’s,” Doug says. “What I can say is that these proprietary platforms will bring a new dimension to strategic planning that drives consistent growth and adaptability.”
Sounds like we’ll have much more to look forward to from the maker of Kling Strategic Partners!
For more insights, visit www.klingstrategic.com to find out for yourself!
SANTA PAULA, CA - Does anyone else have the “Spooky Scary Skeletons” song stuck in their head the minute October starts? No? Just me? From fall harvest soirees to pumpkin patch excursions to Halloween parties, there’s endless opportunities to get the season’s best song stuck in your head. And this October, thanks to Megan Roosevelt’s seasonal citrusy goodies, consumers will probably be switching up the lyrics to sing “Spooky scary skeletons make eating citrus divine” instead.
Taking out the guilt of splurging on Halloween treats, Limoneira and Megan Roosevelt are releasing autumn-themed recipes, including Pumpkin Orange Donuts, on the company’s YouTube Channel all month long. Everyone join in with me to sing in celebration, “Spooky scary skeletons make eating citrus divine!”
Pumpkin Orange Donuts
While “healthy” and “Halloween” might not seem to intuitively go together, these deliciously gluten- and dairy-free donuts are just the thing to change that.
Dry Ingredients:
- Gluten free baking mix:
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp flax seeds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Wet Ingredients:
- ¾ cup Limoneira navel orange juice
- 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup coconut oil
Glaze ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Limoneira orange juice
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Directions: In a medium bowl, mix together all dry donut ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together the wet donut ingredients. The coconut oil may be slightly lumpy – which is perfectly fine. Add wet ingredients to bowl with dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Let sit for three minutes as the flax seeds absorb water and thicken the batter. Pour, scoop, or pipe the batter into a donut pan and bake and bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 18-20 minutes. When finished baking, remove donuts from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Flip the pan over onto a drying rack and let cool for an additional ten minutes.
While the donuts are cooling, add the glaze ingredients (sans chocolate chips) into a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. For chocolate glaze, simply melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Next, it’s time to decorate! Dip the rounded side of each donut into the glaze, and place back onto the drying rack to let the glaze set. Glaze and add chocolate drizzle/orange zest to taste.
For a helpful demonstration, you can watch Megan create the donuts above here on the Limoneira YouTube channel. And, according to a press release, new videos detailing citrus living and recipes tips and tricks will be uploaded every Friday, so don’t forget to subscribe.
To stay in the know on the endless possibilities of produce all season long, keep following AndNowUKnow.
HERMOSILLA, MX - After experiencing the success that Rico Farms has seen this year, some of us may hang up our hats and call it a day. But for this family-owned organic company, these achievements are nothing more than motivation to continue on its path of aggressive expansion. The Tapia Family, owners of Rico Farms, are making new moves to expand their operations, as well as the company’s overall production, through new facilities, added hectares, and added product offerings.
"The Tapia Family's drive for constant improvement is never ending,” shares Ben Johnson, President of Bridges Produce, which is the exclusive sales partner of Rico Farms for selling its organic produce in the United States and Canada. “They never feel their work is done and are always pursuing better solutions to any situation whether it is exceeding organic market expectations, improved quality of life for their staff, continuous improvement in food safety defense, improved soil health, or the quality of the produce itself."
This season at Rico Farms’ Hermosillo operation, Agricola Sonorg, the company will begin growing organic cantaloupe, which will be available in the fall November-December and spring April-May seasons and joins Rico Farms’ current melon offerings of watermelon, mini seedless watermelon, honeydew, and orange dew. Beyond that, the company has doubled its number of shade houses, helping Rico Farms to grow more cucumbers, English cucumber, pickling cucumbers, and eggplant; even allowing it to start its cucumber season three weeks earlier in Mid-September.
"Protected crops are the way of the future for many produce items as they allow superior quality produce, better yields, and extended growing seasons," Ben explains.
As its number of crops continues to grow, so will Rico Farms’ workforce. To accommodate that growth and with an eye on even more to come, the company will build a new dining room to accommodate 314 people per shift—1,200 people total. In tandem, Rico Farms is also building a water reservoir with a 45,000-cubic-meter capacity, to irrigate and provide backup in the case of broken water pumps, as well as provide larger capacity, more pumps, and new containers.
Perhaps most exciting, though, is the new biofactory Rico Farms is currently building, designed to ensure the company’s growing practices are creating healthier soil and putting vital nutrients back into their farm. The biofactory will produce more than 20 different organic products, including: bio-fertilizers, extracts for repellents, insecticides, and beneficial fungi and bacteria including Thricoderma, Bacillus subtilis, and more. The facility will include a vermicompost area for the creation of earthworm humus and an on-site microbiological testing lab.
As Rico Farms and Bridges Produce turns to a year filled with massive growth and ambitious undertakings, AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the latest updates.
GLENDALE, CA - Have you ever been so hungry, you feel like you could just drink your breakfast—just toss it back in one big gulp? IHOP knew it! The restaurant chain developed its IHOP Pumpkin Pancake Stout alongside Keegan Ales, and the new offering taps into the seasonal spices with IHOP’s World Famous Buttermilk pancakes to create a smooth and richly flavored stout. Are you salivating yet? Yeah, me too.
From September to October, IHOP fans will be able to tap into the wonders of fall throughout the New York tri-state area. The Stout is not available at the restaurants, but the seasonal option is inspired by the company’s new promotional menu item: Pumpkin Spice pancakes made with real pumpkin, Cinn-A-Stack® pancakes, and Pumpkin Cinn-A-Stack®. The new menu option is available at the restaurant chain’s locations through October 28.
"Every year, our guests eagerly await the return of our seasonal pancakes: Pumpkin Spice, Cinn-A-Stack, and a new combination of the two this year— Pumpkin Cinn-A-Stacks—which tastes just like a pumpkin pie and a cinnamon roll married and had a food baby," said Brad Haley, Chief Marketing Officer, IHOP. "Our advertising agency, Droga5, suggested that those same ingredients that make our fall pancakes so delicious would also make a great tasting beer, and we wholeheartedly agreed. So, we partnered with award-winning craft brewers Keegan Ales to create IHOP Pumpkin Pancake Stout, a limited-run beer that can exclusively be discovered at some of the Northeast's top fall beer and food festivals and bars."
New York-based brewery Keegan Ales crafted the beer, which sets this new take on pumpkin-flavored beers apart from others because of its use of IHOP’s signature Buttermilk pancake batter mix with ingredients, according to a press release.
"We're excited to partner with IHOP on this first-of-its kind brew and bring fans a unique craft beer that blends the deep, roasted flavors of our stout with hints of pumpkin, vanilla, and IHOP's iconic pancake batter," said Tommy Keegan, Founder of Keegan Ales. "Being able to showcase it at the Bacon and Beer Classic was the perfect launch pad—nothing elevates breakfast or bacon better than pancakes. Now fans can get the taste of IHOP's famous fall pancakes in a beer."
On Saturday, September 29th, IHOP Pumpkin Pancake Stout debuted at the 5th Annual Bacon and Beer Classic Beer classic at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY.
Keep your eyes peeled for the new release, which is available at the following distributors and beer festivals:
- Bacon and Beer Classic – September 29, 2018, Flushing, New York
- Brew U Festival – October 6, 2018 at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York
- Widow Jane Distillery Anniversary Party – October 12, 2018 Red Hook Brooklyn, New York
- Brew at the Zoo – October 19, 2018, Bronx Zoo, New York
- Manhattan Beer Distributor
For more news on how fresh produce is making its way into food trends, AndNowUKnow will keep you updated with the latest brews… I mean NEWS!