WILMINGTON, DE - DuPont Chief Executive Ed Breen delivered some heavy news to employees in a company-wide memo, announcing that DuPont Co., who recently finalized merger plans with Dow Chemical, is cutting 1,700 Delaware jobs, about 28 percent of its workforce in the area.
“Especially given that we are in the middle of the holidays, we would have preferred to wait until individual notifications were complete before reporting the full local impact,” Breen wrote in the memo, according to Delaware Online. “… I wanted you to hear the difficult news – directly from me.”
While many were notified of their being cut earlier this month, several hundred of those that will be laid off will be notified in January to ensure the layoffs are complete during the first part of 2016. According to the report, this marks one of the largest mass layoffs to hit Delaware in recent history.
This move comes just a couple of months after the company announced that it will be laying off 5,000 employees nationwide in order to cut its spending by $1.6 billion.
DuPont officials wouldn’t comment on particulars, only that there are no plans to shutter any of the company’s facilities in the state at this time. Those consist of DuPont’s headquarters, employing about 3,000 workers, an experimental station employing about 2,500, and a research center with about 600 workers.
Breen stated that DuPont is required to detail the layoffs in a state filing due today, and so preferred to announce the full scope of the decision to the company himself.
Those that will be laid off will reportedly receive a severance package, officials stated, as well as placement services and training allowances based on how many years of service they have with DuPont.
GLENMONT, NY - New York Apple Sales is the largest, most geographically diverse sales agency in New York State. We partner with more orchards and more growers, and the finest packing facilities in New York.
We ship over one third of NY’s fresh apple crop annually.
We export to Asia, Central America, the UK, India, Russia and other countries. We import fresh apples from New Zealand, Chile, and Scotian Gold Cooperative in Nova Scotia, Canada.
We grow our own at our Fish Creek Orchard, so you consistently get only the best of the best from us all year around. And that’s just the start of why New York Apple Sales should be your one apple source.
New York produces more apple varieties than any other state, almost 30 million bushels a year, so we can ship the best of the best. Varieties like these and more, from Acey Mac to Empire, Honeycrisp to McIntosh.
Our partner orchards and packers maintain the same dedication to unsurpassed quality, safety, and customer service that we do, as our 99% acceptance rate at retail attests.
We’re all about innovation and technology that makes a difference. We team with the renowned ag experts at Cornell to take part in numerous studies. Our new planting techniques are producing more flavorful, better-color fruit.
All our packing facilities receive third-party food safety audits and meet or exceed the highest standards. We care about the environment and sustainability, and we walk the talk through initiatives like these and others.
We make sure it’s there when it is supposed to be there through our acclaimed logistics team. We put it all together beautifully every day for you.
New York Apple Sales. More orchards. More varieties. One source.
TAHLEQUAH, OK — Authorities have confiscated 12 kilos of an illegal powder discovered in a banana box in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
The substance is estimated to have a street value of anywhere from $800,000 to about $1 million depending on if it’s meth or cocaine. It was found in a distribution box of certified organic bananas at a local Reasor’s store earlier this week.
After having been discovered while unpacking bananas around noon, authorities were called to the scene.
Police are still waiting for test results to confirm if the powder is meth or cocaine, however they did tell Fox23 that similar discoveries of cocaine have been made in the state.
Reports disclosed only that store employees discovered the illegal powder; no suspects were reported. The Tahlequah Police Department are still investigating the how the drugs came to be packed with the produce. AndNowUKnow will continue to follow this story as more details come to light.
FOWLER, CA – Bee Sweet Citrus is encouraging retailers alike to stock up on mandarins with peak season already in full swing. And what better way to keep consumers’ healthy New Year’s resolutions on track than with a nutritious, flavorful snack?
“Many people are going to ring in the New Year with new health goals,” said Monique Bienvenue, Director of Communications. “Mandarins are an ideal choice for health enthusiasts everywhere because they’re low in calories, high in nutritional value, and full of flavor.”
Bee Sweet offers Clementine Mandarins, Murcott Mandarins, Page Mandarins, and Satsuma Mandarins, all of which are seedless, easy-to-peel, and sweet in flavor, according to a press release.
“One of the struggles that people face when starting a new health regiment is finding foods that are both healthy and filling,” Bienvenue continued. “Mandarins are a great snack for anyone looking to improve their health because they are extremely tasty and provide enough fiber to help curb hunger cravings.”
Ideal for on-the-go snacking or tossed in a salad, mandarins offer a great source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and flavonoids.
Both organic and conventional mandarins are available.
As we previously reported, Bee Sweet’s Sweetheart Mandarins carry the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) logo on the packaging to support the organization’s mission to find a cure for breast cancer. The family-owned company recently donated $50,000 to the foundation, raising a total of $100,000 since 2014.
Here’s to kicking off a healthy and happy new year!
UNITED KINGDOM - As a proponent and member of the produce industry, I am all for new frontiers that promote fruits and veggies. But kale or beetroot jam with my chocolate? Can’t say I thought of it.
But chocolatier Cadbury has not only thought of it; it is pursuing it.
Mondelēz Europe-owned chocolate maker Cadbury is jumping on to the produce trends, marrying superfoods like kale and beets into new flavors to fill the candy tray.
A spokesperson for Mondelēz told the Oceanside Post that the company is looking to meet consumers' "ever changing tastes and preferences,” comparing the experimental chocolates to fashion. "The clothes you see on the catwalk never appear as they are on the shelves. Instead you may see new flavors inspired by these further down the line,” he said.
Those flavors include Kale Crème, meeting the inclining demand for savory/chocolate combos and nutrient-dense superfoods, the Beetroot Jelly, also a superfood, and Wasabi Crunch.
"At Mondelēz we constantly focus on innovation and experimentation, which is why we've created the concepts of Kale Crème, the Beetroot Jelly, and the Wasabi Crunch,” Dave Shepherd, Chocolate Inventor for Mondelēz Europe, said.
In addition to these produce-centric, albeit unconventional, chocolate flavors, Cadbury has unveiled a number of other samples this year, including Apple Crunch, Truffle Heart, and for Cadbury Australia, a Vegemite-filled experiment.
Will this be the trend that opens an entirely new food market to the produce industry as Shepherd postulates? It will be interesting to see.
SANTA PAULA, CA – Shares in Calavo Growers were on the rise this morning after the avocado company shared the financial results of its “most successful year ever.”
As of 12:50 pm EST, Calavo’s stock was up 1.51% to $50.26 on news that it had reached record levels for revenues, gross margin, and earnings per share (EPS) for the full fiscal year 2015, including double-digit growth of the latter two metrics.
Lee E. Cole, Chairman and CEO, said that the continued success is “gratifying and reflects focused implementation of our strategic business agenda,” according to a press release.
For the full year of fiscal 2015, Calavo reported record revenues of $856.8 million versus $782.5 million last year, gross margin of $85.2 million versus $71.2 million last year, and diluted EPS of $1.57 from $0.01 per share last year.
“These record-setting results were achieved in spite of a challenging pricing environment for avocados,” Cole said in a statement, acknowledging the downward pricing pressure on per-unit avocado prices. “This was a unique situation, reflective of an avocado industry rapidly transitioning to annual consumption well in excess of two billion pounds.”
For the fourth quarter, the company’s fresh avocado unit volume increased 22% and gross margin climbed 90% to $5.2 million from $2.8 million during the same period last year.
Sales for the Renaissance Food Group business segment rose 12% and gross margin increased 41.8% to $7.2 million from $5.0 million during the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Cole said that Calavo is in ideal position to achieve yet another record year in 2016 with total avocado consumption expected to reach 2.5 billion pounds next year, up about 20% from 2015.
New facilities in Jacksonville, FL and Jalisco, Mexico are also expected to open in early 2016, which will expand the company’s service capabilities and geographic reach.
“We have built an outstanding company – with multiple revenue and profit drivers – that enable it to successfully navigate challenging cross-currents when they arise,” Cole concluded. “With so much to build on – including our breadth and depth of human, financial, and operational resources – I am highly optimistic of Calavo’s prospects ahead and confident of fiscal 2016 being a record-setting year with respect to revenues and earnings per share.”
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to track Calavo’s financial progress in the first quarter of 2016 and beyond.
MONROVIA, CA – Trader Joe’s is gearing up to launch its first Oklahoma store in February 2016, with a second location not too far behind.
The retailer plans to host its grand opening for the Tulsa store on February 26, 2016. The store will span approximately 9,500 square feet and will serve items ranging from fresh produce to artisan breads and deli items, as well as other specialty products.
A second store in Nichols Hills has not yet been given an opening date, but spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki told The Oklahoman that it would probably launch in the second half of 2016.
As we previously reported, Mayor Dewey Bartlett called Trader Joe’s announcement of its planned expansion great news and believes the company will open a new retail market for the city.
“With the announcements of Costco, Urban Outfitters, and now Trader Joe’s, Tulsa is a place where retailers want to be as we have a strong economy, philanthropic and business community, and have a uniqueness that is hard to find anywhere else in the country,” he said in a statement.
Applications for store associates will be accepted starting January 2nd, and will continue through the 6th.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - It’s no secret that we are in an El Niño year and that the numbers have meteorologists certain that this is one for the record books.
Previously referred to as the “Godzilla” of El Niños, NASA has been tracking the pattern to monitor its growth and learn more about the impact it could have.
“El Niño is a fascinating phenomenon because it has such far-reaching and diverse impacts,” Lesley Ott, Research Meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in an earlier NASA release. “The fact that fires in Indonesia are linked with circulation patterns that influence rainfall over the United States shows how complex and interconnected the Earth system is.”
Now, NASA has placed satellite images from the U.S./European Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 mission side by side with those of the El Niño event of 1998 (the strongest on record) and the resemblance is striking.
"In 2014, the current El Niño teased us -- wavering off and on," Josh Willis, Project Scientist for the Jason missions at JPL, said in the latest release. "But in early 2015, atmospheric conditions changed, and El Niño steadily expanded in the central and eastern Pacific. Although the sea surface height signal in 1997 was more intense and peaked in November of that year, in 2015, the area of high sea levels is larger. This could mean we have not yet seen the peak of this El Niño."
This adds to our previous report, in which it was announced that despite seeing more precipitation and stronger storms this year than the last, the peak for El Niño wasn’t expected to hit until late January-early February, 2016.
Though NASA is still trying to understand the correlation between El Niño’s warming of the Pacific and how that effects weather around the world, it did say that one anticipated result is some relief for California and the Western U.S.
"The water story for much of the American West over most of the past decade has been dominated by punishing drought," Bill Patzert, JPL Climatologist, said. "Reservoir levels have fallen to record or near-record lows, while groundwater tables have dropped dangerously in many areas. Now we’re preparing to see the flip side of nature’s water cycle -- the arrival of steady, heavy rains and snowfall."
But while hopes continue to raise, NASA continues to caution that no one can predict the exact timing or intensity of U.S. El Niño impacts. "Looking ahead to summer, we might not be celebrating the demise of this El Niño. It could be followed by a La Niña [associated with less moisture in the air over cooler ocean waters], which could bring roughly opposite effects to the world’s weather," Patzert added.
While large El Niños delivered about twice the average amount of rainfall to Southern California back in 1982-83 and 1997-98, Patzert cautioned that, over the long haul, big El Niños are infrequent and supply only seven percent of California’s water.
As 2016 shapes up to be one of the largest El Niños yet, we will keep crossing our fingers that it could bring record relief as well.
HONG KONG, CHINA - McDonald’s continues to freshen up its format with the introduction of McDonald’s Next, serving up asparagus, quinoa, couscous, and customizable salads to honor its 40th anniversary in Hong Kong.
The twist for the U.S. Market? Speculations are circulating that this latest concept, in line with many other produce-centric experiments McDonald’s is testing in foreign markets, are a hint to the future direction of the traditionally unhealthy fast food chain.
Business Insider reports that this latest market to receive a fresh-focused menu is seeing a multitude of methods McDonald’s has been testing elsewhere, such as the previously reported berry-decorated belgian waffles from Australia, the salad options reminiscent of the Canada probe McCafe, and the Create Your Taste offerings currently offered in select U.S. cities like New York City, as well as New Zealand and other markets.
The customizable salads section of the restaurant is the heaviest produce offering McDonald’s Next will offer its Hong Kong consumers. Here, they can also choose from items like couscous, quinoa, asparagus, crayfish, and more.
Overall, it’s one more step in a direction that emphasizes more items from the produce industry, moving with the growing demand in fast food to offer healthier options and change the image the Golden Arches have long been associated with.
AndNowUKnow will continue to follow any moves the company makes that could put a larger emphasis on placing fruits and vegetables at the forefront of the fast casual food industry.
USA - In all the craze of the holidays it is almost too easy to forget minor things like registering your holiday gifts and latest technological tools. So, the FAA is providing a strong incentive: fines upwards of $27,000.
As we previously reported, the FAA issued a ruling that all drones purchased after December 21st would have to be registered before it even takes off, while those purchased before have until February 19th to register.
Register Your Drone by Clicking Here
Registration is free for the first 30 days of the program, and $5 dollars per drone after that. Infinitely better than the maximum civil penalty fine of up to $27,500 you could be hit with for flying without the proper paperwork.
If criminal penalties are applied, which can happen if flying in “no fly” zones, penalties can be a fine of up to $250,000 or three years in prison, according to NBC.
The strict reprimands the FAA have in place seem to be working. Gizmodo reports that more than 45,000 drones were registered within the first 48 hours of the launch of the online registration.
Registration is valid for three years, and can be applied for online by going here. Once the application is processed, applicants will receive a certificate with an identification number which must be marked on the aircraft. The FAA also stated when it announced the process that the owner should have a copy of his/her registration on hand while flying their craft.
The FAA requires registration for all drones weighing between 250 grams and 55 pounds at takeoff.