MALAYSIA – ‘Tis the season of jolly good fun and merry good eats! And while most of us wish we were lounging on a beach instead of shoveling snow, McDonald’s is bringing tropical warmth to all this winter with the return of this popular dessert item. Decking the halls with boughs of pineapple, McDonald’s is re-launching Pineapple Pie, a longstanding dessert offering that brings fresh produce flavors to fast and convenient feasting.
“Get your zing on with the return of your favorite Pineapple Pie!” McDonald’s touts. “Every mouthful is an unbelievable mix of sweet and zesty pineapple chunks enveloped in our crispy pie crust, absolutely yum!”
With gooey pineapple jam and chunks of delicious fresh fruit, the Pineapple Pie is McDonald’s take on a grab-and-go pie–its flaky pie crust in perfect pocket form so snackers like me can bring tasty treats to all their various winter festivities.
While this might have some of us drooling in desire, the Pineapple Pie is currently only available in some markets, including McDonald’s locations in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hawaii.
So, follow me in merry measure—all the way to McDonald’s Malaysia, Sinapore, or Hawaii!
For more findings of fresh produce offerings around the world, keep checking back with AndNowUKnow.
PHARR, TX—Saying avocad-no to a shipment of avocados last week was U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO). The organization’s Pharr International Bridge cargo facility found 1,055 pounds of alleged marijuana in a commercial trailer carrying the essential guacamole-making ingredient. The illegal, stowaway substance has a reported value of $210,980.
“Our officers’ experience combined with the use of available tools continues to keep dangerous drugs from entering our country,” said Acting Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry, in a recent press release.
The white 2005 freighter tractor trailer was carrying the shipment of avocados acrosss the bridge on Saturday, December 16th, when CBP officers assigned to Pharr International Bridge cargo facility referred the vehicle to a secondary inspection. There, while using a non-intrusive imaging system, the officers located and extracted 440 packaged of the alleged narcotics.
The case is now in the hands of special agents of Homeland Security Investigations. And a big thank you goes to the CBP officers continuing to address the needs of our industry while keeping our produce free from harm’s way.
FRANCE – It looks like someone is not living the high life this holiday season after their attempt to hide three tons of cannabis within a shipment of lettuce was thwarted this week. The truck-load, with a reported six million euros’ worth (about $7,121,640 USD) of the drug stowed away inside, was found when French police searched inside at a motorway toll station.
Over 200 kilos of marijuana leaves were snuggly hidden in the lettuce toting crates. Once identified, the drugs were taken by anti-drug police on the A36 motorway in South East France on Thursday, as was told to the AFP news agency on Saturday.
The driver of the lorry was a 60-year-old Spanish national, who was detained in a police station in Bayonne, a French Basque city. Alongside him was an accomplice car driver who seemingly led the way. The two are expected to appear in court on Monday.
Will our industry hear of another affront to our lovely lettuce as feast-time approaches this joyful season? AndNowUKnow will continue to drive home the freshest industry news.
DOT, WA – In honor of the 2017 Autumn Glory® apple crop, Domex Superfresh Growers sent an Autumn Glory apple on its maiden voyage into space in an employee-designed weather balloon system. The project, which CEO Robert Kershaw has had in the works for two years, took the apple to a height of 116,000 feet and to a temperature of -77 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a press release sent out after the launch, Kershaw said, “A fried chicken sandwich was recently lifted into the stratosphere on an outsourced balloon mission, and other apples have hitched ‘pay-to-fly’ rides on commercial rockets, but this project was executed entirely by our employees. It is such a fun way to build company excitement, while introducing others to what we believe is a delicious and unique apple."
The valiant apple was plucked from its tree on an Autumn Glory apple orchard in Selah, Washington, and placed directly onto the flying contraption. As the apple reached the apex of its ascent, the balloon ruptured, and a parachute returned the apple safely down to earth in Dot, Washington, 14 miles North of the launch site.
After enduring a 14 mile hike through the darkened landscape, Steve Potter and Jeff Johnston, Project Leaders, along with the Media Manager, Tyler Weinbender, retrieved the apple.
After the launch, Potter waxed sentimentally, “The balloon launch reminded me of what NASA meant to me as a kid growing up in the 1980s. We used to watch shuttle launches in the classroom. We would all be in awe, everyone got behind it. Today, people seem passionate about things that have a divide arguing about sports, politics, and religion. The project involved working together on technology and design to achieve a common goal. Our nerves were on edge throughout the entire launch and recovery process, but it would have felt rewarding regardless of outcome.”
The Autumn Glory has experience success as well, selling out two months earlier than anticipated last year; Domex Superfresh Growers will double its upcoming Autumn Glory crop and hopes that it will soon be able to make the apple available year-round. To keep up-to-date with the Autumn Glory’s adventures, both on land and above, stay tuned to AndKnowUKnow.
SAN JOSE, CA – Zest Labs™ and Hy-Vee Inc. are partnering to bring farm-to-fork traceability of fresh produce to Hy-Vee’s 245 retail stores in the Midwest. Zest Labs' Zest Fresh autonomously tracks and reports in real time the freshness of products from harvest to retail store, wielding the industry’s first freshness metric to provide retailers like Hy-Vee with traceability data and continuous real-time visibility of the remaining freshness capacity of fresh produce. Hy-Vee will kick off the partnership by testing Zest Fresh’s metrics on its premium supplier of seedless Holiday® grapes.
“We are excited to work with Zest Labs to determine how Zest Fresh can help both monitor and improve freshness, while providing complete traceability through the cold supply chain,” said John Griesenbrock, Hy-Vee’s Vice President, Produce/Health Markets, in a press release. “With traceability support, we will become even more invested in bringing the freshest and highest-quality produce to our customers.”
According to a press release, Zest Labs has proven to reduce waste from spoilage by more than 50 percent of grocers via its freshness metrics, known as its ZIPR Code. Committed to providing high-quality natural, organic, and locally sourced products, Hy-Vee’s partnership with Zest Labs will not only help reduce food waste, but also empower its customers to learn more about the source of their food.
“Hy-Vee has always put high quality and consumer confidence at the forefront of everything they do, which makes them an ideal partner for us,” said Peter Mehring, CEO of Zest Labs. “By working closely with growers, we’re all creating true transparency throughout the entire cold chain and ensuring only the freshest products arrive at their stores a complete record of the product through every step in the cold chain.”
Will the freshness metric catch on with more grocery retailers as the industry works to provide consumers with high-quality fresh produce? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the produce industry continues to work hand-in-hand with forthcoming technologies.
SACRAMENTO, CA – Trimming a tree? Debating the relative merits of eggnog versus mulled wine? Partying with an office full of festively-dressed produce people? We can’t wait to see it and share our holiday experiences with our peers in the industry.
AndNowUKnow is currently seeking submissions for our 2017 Holiday Yearbook. Christmas, Kwanzaa Hanukkah, New Year's—whether professional or personal, we want to know how you celebrated this season and put the stopper on another fantastic year in produce. Last year, we received a ton of great submissions from you characters—whether bedecked in Rudolph regalia or opening presents—and I can’t wait to see how we as fruit and veggie folks topped ourselves this year.
If you have not yet participated in one of our festive yearbook editions, it’s simple! Send your photos to us directly by emailing [email protected], or post those special moments on Instagram, and add the hashtag #ANUKHoliday to have it pop up in our yearbook feature next week.
This is an excellent chance to both showcase the culture fueling your company and to see what your produce industry peers are doing to celebrate.
So, from all of us at ANUK, have a happy holiday! And send us some photos!
SAN DIEGO, CA – Sometimes we all need a little help getting our New Year’s resolutions to stick, whether it’s eating healthier, exercising more, or giving back. In an effort to encourage more in our industry to kick off the New Year right, United Fresh is hosting a golf tournament and gala at its inaugural United Fresh Start Foundation conference to encourage all to give back to the community, while fitting in some exercise and fun. On January 16, 2018, join retailers and foodservice VIPs from across the country for the 2018 United Fresh Start Foundation Golf Tournament and Gala to support and increase children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
“This is our first annual United Fresh Start Foundation Conference, and we’re pretty excited,” Jeff Oberman, Vice President, Trade Relations, tells me. “This event is dedicated to the United Fresh Start Foundation, which is focused on increasing children’s access to fruits and vegetables. Everything about this event is centered around giving back. Proceeds from the Conference will help the foundation’s Community Grants Program which helps to support organizations across the country who share in our mission of a healthy future for kids, in addition to ongoing efforts to identify school systems that want to increase fresh produce on the lunch menus, and help United Fresh promote a strong message on behalf of the industry to increase fruits and vegetables in traditional school lunch programs.”
The half-day golf tournament will feature a $10,000 Putt For Cash competition, as well as contest holes including Longest Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin, and a $20,000 Hole-in-One competition–not to mention the spud gun fundraiser on the 12th hole. And the industry won’t be playing alone. This year, you can play with retailer and foodservice VIPs from Albertsons, AmazonFresh, Costco, Hy-Vee, McDonald’s, Southeastern Grocers, Raley’s, and more.
The annual Gala Dinner will also recognize the recipient of United Fresh’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award, Hugh Topper, Group Vice President of Fresh Foods for H-E-B. Participation in the United Fresh Start Foundation Golf Tournament is set at $300 per player. Those who don’t want to lug their golf clubs across the country, but want to participate, can rent clubs for $75, which also includes two sleeves of golf balls.
The upcoming United Fresh conference will take place January 16-18 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego. Join United Fresh on the green for a day of golf and giving back. To register and learn more about this inaugural event, click here.
“This year we’re really looking to increase the value we deliver to our membership throughout the year with different programs, and this conference is one of them,” Jeff continues. “In sunny San Diego, we’re featuring our Retail and Foodservice VIPs throughout the event. We’ll start with the golf tournament on Tuesday, and then that evening we will have the gala that will feature over 50 silent and exciting live auction items. On Wednesday, there will be education forums where attendees will hear from Community Grant Program recipient Alexander Justice Moore from the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, DC, as well as how retailers are taking advantage of the fruit and vegetable snack program to engage their communities and youngest shoppers. This program will feature panelists like Mike Orf, Assistant Vice President, Produce Operations, from Hy-Vee as well as Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Winner Chef Ype Von Hengst, Co-Founder and Executive Chef at the Silver Diner in Rockville, MD.”
We look forward to seeing you next month in San Diego!
For more on what’s up-and-coming in the produce industry, stay up-to-date with AndNowUKnow.
UNITED STATES - It’s currently looking like a La Niña winter as Mother Nature gears up to send us what could be a very different season from what we experienced last year.
The flip side to the El Niño warming pattern that affects the ocean temperatures and has been associated with a wetter winter for the western states, La Niña is expected to bring dryer conditions to the Arizona/California regions.
La Nina weather patterns, Business Insider detailed in a recent report, tend to block the west-to-east flow of the jet stream, trapping more storms over the Pacific Ocean.
Contrarily, you might recall the Texas snow anomaly we reported previously that hadn’t occurred in over a decade. This, too, is a La Niña marker, according to Business Insider, which reports the system would mean heavy snow and high winds to the Great Lakes, through Texas, even Florida.
“Those are areas where we wouldn't even talk about a snowfall forecast in general, because it's such a rare event there,” Meteorologist Stephen Baxter of the National Weather Service told the news source.
Baxter also said that this means experts are expecting fairly healthy snow pack to develop in the Rockies, but cautions the California region.
For parts of Southern California, Baxter said drought “could be exacerbated by dry weather,” but that it’s still too soon to make any far off predictions. As always, weather is a difficult factor to bet on.
“There's probably still about a 25% chance that the winter ends up colder than normal, temperature-wise,” Baxter said. “And if that happens it would certainly favor more snow.”
As Southern California continues to combat the Thomas Fire, and other key regions like Texas and Florida work their way back from a devastating hurricane season, we hope for a helping hand from Mother Nature as we continue to report on all the latest from AndNowUKnow.
KINGSVILLE, ON – Red Sun Farms has been brightening up the winter season, with bright and burgeoning greenhouse-growing operations and plans for the new year.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with the company’s President and CEO Jim DiMenna to find out more about Red Sun’s plans for 2018 and the keys to the company’s continued success.
“The success and the growth of Red Sun has always been about having our own acreage. We’re specific about how we grow,” Jim explains, noting that Red Sun’s high-tech approach and careful growing practices have allowed the company to introduce new products and varieties, while expanding its operations throughout North America.
With a robust development path charted and projects ongoing throughout North America, Jim notes, Red Sun is primed to meet its retail partners’ needs with a growing variety of protected ag products.
“We’re expanding our operations in Canada. In the United States, we’ve got some new acreage forecasted that we expect to announce in the next coming months.
In Mexico, we’ve got some expansion under construction presently, and that will be in production probably by the first part of 2018.”
For more, watch our complete interview above. And for more fresh produce news, keep watching AndNowUKnow.
TAMPA, FL – In their decade-long partnership, Wiers family-owned farm and IFCO have worked together to provide consumers with high-quality, nutritious food without sacrificing the environmental sustainability or economic viability of their product.
In a press release, Ed Wiers, a Wiers Farm Partner, said of the relationship, “IFCO is a great partner that helps us meet our marketing objectives. Their RPCs (reusable plastic containers) are easy to handle. They also protect and cool our product better, have better structural integrity, and cost less than other types of produce packaging.”
And Wiers Farm has truly taken advantage of IFCO’s environmentally conscious packaging. Wiers Farm uses 1.3 million IFCO RPCs annually to ship a wide array of produce, ranging from vegetables like lettuce and greens, to fruits like zucchini, squash, peppers, cucumbers, corn, and eggplants.
IFCO finds satisfaction in the partnership as well. IFCO’s President, Daniel Walsh, said “We are proud of our long-term collaboration with Wiers Farm. Our partnership is based on the shared goal of creating an efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective food supply chain that provides families across North America with safe, nutritious, delicious, and affordable food, and the results speak for themselves.”
Beyond IFCO and Wiers Farm’s decade-long partnership, IFCO has worked for 25 years to reduce carbon emissions, water use, and solid waste bi-products, which normally result from shipping. All in all, IFCO’s RCPs have saved customers over $5.2 billion in the 9.5 billion trips. In honor of its 25th anniversary, IFCO has donated $25,000 dollars to food banks across Europe and North America.