ORANGE, CA - Interfresh is welcoming Shonna Williams to its sales team.
Williams has been in the produce industry for almost twenty years, having worked as a Produce Manager for Stater Bros. Markets, as well as a Produce Buyer for both Safeway and Jetro Restaurant Depot, and most recently as a Director of Procurement for FC, Inc.
“Shonna brings a well-rounded view of the produce industry to our team,” Chris Puentes, President of Interfresh, said in a press release. “We’re excited to marry her skills and relationships with our deep pool of resources at Interfresh. We think the combination will produce some exciting results for our growers and customers.”
Now in its 28th year of business, Interfresh promises a passion from their brand and employees in order to provide “unparalleled services” to all customers in the industry, which is an atmosphere Williams echoes enthusiasm to now be a part of.
“I’m excited to be a part of the Interfresh team, and look forward to helping to build upon the great things that are happening here,” Williams said.
Stay tuned to ANUK to keep up to date on the produce industry.
WENATCHEE, WA - Oscar hopefuls this year are getting a sweet consolation prize, thanks to Ambrosia™ apples.
The company is stepping up its apples as a first-time featured item in the official gift bags that non-winners in the major categories will receive at the 87th Annual Oscars®. Ambrosia™ apples will be the only fresh produce item to be included in this year’s gift bag, and will be part of over $80,000 worth of merchandise given as part of the “Everybody Wins at the Oscars®” nominee gift baskets.
“Ambrosia™ apples really are exceptional, worthy of Hollywood’s best,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing
. “While the award nominee gift bag is always unique, sweet, crisp Ambrosia™ apples have earned their moment in the spotlight as well. We’re delighted to have Ambrosia™ apples included.”
With a name meaning “food of the gods,” Ambrosia™ apples are right at home on Oscars night, according to a press release. Ambrosia™ is a relative newcomer to the American-grown apple market, after being discovered by chance in Canada.
Ambrosia™ apples in the United States are exclusively grown by McDougall & Sons, a family-owned fruit farming company in Wenatchee, Washington with roots going back over 100 years. All Ambrosia apples are non-GMO, and after 10 years of orchard development, both organic and conventionally grown Ambrosia apples are now available nationally in leading food markets.
WOODLAND, CA – Nugget Markets has acquired 3-store chain Paradise Foods, a specialty grocer that operates in the Marin County communities of Novato, Corte Madera and Tiburon.
Paradise Foods offers an extensive selection of natural, organic and local products, along with a full line of prepared foods that include new and old world classic dishes, according to a press release. The retailer has served Marin County for 14 years.
“We’ve been looking to expand into the Marin community for a number of years and when (Paradise Foods President David Gilmour) approached us, I knew it was a perfect fit. Paradise Foods and Nugget Markets share similar goals and values, and we both have built our businesses on quality, selection and service,” said Eric Stille, CEO and owner of Nugget Markets.
Gilmour mirrored the sentiment saying, “I am thrilled to have found a strong retailer (Nugget Markets) that will continue to offer my employees a dynamic culture and a secure work environment, while maintaining a strong focus on quality perishables, local and organic grocers, and our community.”
According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Nugget will remodel the stores and eventually rebrand them under the Nugget name, a process that will take several months.
Nugget Markets currently operates nine Nugget Markets in the greater Sacramento Valley along with two Food 4 Less stores in Woodland and Vallejo and one Fork Lift by Nugget Markets store in Cameron Park.
ANAHEIM, CA - Jose Rossignoli, Category General Manager for Robinson Fresh, shared what differentiates his company from the rest at PMA Fresh Summit 2014.
“We’re proud to be here and PMA this year and we’re very excited to continue providing clarity and understanding in the marketplace about the Robinson Fresh Advantage,” said Rossignoli.
When asked what separates Robinson Fresh from the other produce companies, Rossignoli offers these four distinguishing factors:
- Innovation
- Global presence
- Brands
- Scale
Robinson Fresh also showcased its broad portfolio of product offerings. It is currently the exclusive marketer of consumer brands Green Giant®, Welch's, Mott’s, Tropicana, and Glory Foods.
For this and more, make sure to check out the video at the top of this page!
HOUSTON, TX – Sysco’s $8.2 billion US Foods merger appears as though it is being delayed again.
The New York Post is reporting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent a subpoena to a third-party food distributor asking for information.
This news comes after Sysco agreed to sell assets worth $5 billion to Performance Food Group last month in an effort to win regulatory approval for the FTC. That amount is equivalent to approximately one-quarter of US Foods’ revenue.
This proposed merger will combine the top two U.S. food distributors and would create a company with a quarter of the $235 billion North American market.
Sources tell the Post that this new subpoena means the review of the December 2013 merger “is not done.”
The source added, “I think it’s shockingly unclear” whether the FTC is preparing to clear the merger, or wants more information so it can sure to block the deal.
The company expected to complete the merger before the end of the first quarter of 2015, but for now, questions remain. Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for continuing updates.
KINGSBURG, CA - For its 2nd year in the California Cherry deal, King Fresh Produce has decided to install 2 MultiScan Technologies units containing photo-optic grading systems for its cherry packing facility. The units are currently being installed at its Jody Fresh Packinghouse and Cooling facility near Kingsburg, CA.
King Fresh is looking forward to the new season, marketing the Farmington Fresh, King Fresh, Hy-Flyer and Mary Ellen brands, with private label cherries as well, according to a press release.
“The new equipment should be up, running, and fully functional near the end of March, and we are excited to have this new grading system in place for the 2015 season,” said Rene Millburn, Public Relations Director at King Fresh.
The new 28-lane electronic cherry grading line will sort cherries according to color, size, shape, and defects, improving efficiency in the packing process, while also aiming for improved products that are attractive and uniform.
King Fresh forecasts shipping upwards of 300,000 cases of both 16lb and 18lb California cherries this year from late April into June. It plans to increase its Southern San Joaquin Valley acreage this year and expand the photo-optic grading system prior to the 2016 cherry season as well. Although it’s still too early to predict how the California season will play out, all indications point to a heavy crop of Brooks, Tulare, Coral, Tioga, Rainier and Bing cherries this upcoming season.
BOISE, ID - J. R. Simplot Company’s ‘Innate’ potato is the closest ever to receiving the golden ticket for in-store sales, RT News reported this morning. Having already received a stamp of approval from the USDA in November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now has the final say on making another step in produce history, or sending the potato back to the lab.
While some see this as a natural progression in technology, even a safer approach with the elimination of danger-causing genes that already exist in our foods, others are wary because of potential future ramifications that cannot yet be predicted.
“We’ve been eating genetically engineered food products since the middle 90’s and so far there is not a single documented case of harm,” Alan McHughen, a biotechnologist and geneticist at UC Riverside, said to RT News. “That’s a pretty good safety track record, I would be really surprised if this potato would reverse that trend.”
Using genes that already exist in the potato, instead of integrating new ones, is part of the company’s assurance that the potato is not so drastically changed to raise any alarm for future damage as a result of consumption. In fact, it argues having an even safer potato with the removal of the Acrylamide allele, which has been correlated with cancer.
Yet the Center for Food Safety (CFS) still raises questions for the FDA to consider before delivering its decision. Mainly the use of RNA modification that J.R. Simplot has done in order to prevent the bruising and browning that costs potato farmers up to 15% a year in crops.
“We simply don’t know enough about RNA interference (RNAi) technology to determine whether GE crops developed with it are safe for people and the environment,” Doug Gurian-Sherman, the Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Senior Scientist at CFS, commented to RT News. “If this is an attempt to give crop biotechnology a more benign face, all it has really done is expose the inadequacies of the U.S. regulation of GE crops. These approvals are riddled with holes and are extremely worrisome.”
One of the holes concerning the CFS is the lack of legal obligation to identify GMO produce in stores, meaning that customers could have no idea that there is any genetic difference between Innates and other potatoes being sold. While the company has said it is likely to market Innates as a ‘value added product,’ they would not be obligated to do so, nor any store that sells them.
Both give the FDA much to consider before delivering a decision, so stay tuned to ANUK as this story continues to develop.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The USDA has reached an agreement with Chinese officials to allow all U.S. grown apples to gain access to the Chinese market.
Speaking on this agreement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “USDA values the relationship we are forging with China to bring mutually-beneficial food and agricultural trade to Americans and Chinese alike.”
He continued, “The new access for American exports we’re announcing today is the culmination of decades of hard work by USDA staff. These efforts will result in high quality, fresh U.S. apple varieties for consumers in China and a significant boost in sales for American apple producers.”
According to a press release, this will allow a greater share of U.S. apple exports to China in the coming months. It also has the potential to increase U.S. fresh apple exports, which were valued at over $1 billion in 2013, by approximately 10%.
AndNowUKnow spoke to New York Apple Association President Jim Allen about this new agreement.
"We're certainly excited about the prospect of shipping New York apples to Chinese consumers," Jim said. "Anytime a new market of this size and scale opens up, it makes for good news for growers of all stripes. This is certainly true here in New York. New York apple growers will be looking forward to make the most of this landmark agreement, as we work to forge new connections with Chinese consumers and communicate the kind of quality they can learn to count on from New York's growers."
With this new agreement, the apple industry estimates that within two years, exports to China are expected to reach 5 million bushels annually, a value of nearly $100 million each year.
The agreement was reached through bilateral discussions between USDA and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in San Francisco.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest on this new trade agreement.
MIAMI, FL – Helping more than 60,000 people in 60 different communities may seem like a job well done, but for ONE BANANA, it is just the beginning.
As we previously reported, ONE BANANA is well-invested in programs helping the environment, communities, and its employees. Now the corporation is setting its sights on schools and programs that will allow previous generosities to be self-sustaining.
I spoke with ONE BANANA North America’s newly appointed President, Craig Carlson, about what the company has in the works for 2015.
“Our operations are a long-term business. If we destroy the environment, which is the main input in the production of bananas, we would be irresponsible not only to communities and the environment, but with our own business,” Carlson tells me.
He added, “On the other hand, most of our workers and their families live in rural areas, where the needs are enormous. If we invest in their basic needs, we will have healthier and better trained employees, which will result in increased performance and productivity.”
Carlson tells me that some of the biggest challenges in starting and maintaining these programs include prioritizing, making the programs sustainable, and continuing to form lasting partnerships.
“It is still the myth that ‘entrepreneurs are bad,’” he says. “However, we managed to carry out programs with institutions of local governments like the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, etc.”
One of those programs is the healthy school meal program, which will be adding six new schools this year. By focusing on adding bananas to school meals to promote health and cognitive development, this program has already benefited 906 students, 360 mothers, and 3,000 community members, according to Carlson. The program has been so successful, in fact, that it led to ONE BANANA’s parent company, Agroamerica, being recognized with Unilever International’s 2014 “Big Tick” Award for Responsible Businesses.
The company does not, however, restrict itself to kids. It has joined forces with Water and Sanitation Health to prevent gastrointestinal disease with access to safe drinking water in the department of Escuintla and Southwest Guatemala. “We aim to benefit 60 communities and 287 families in the area,” Carlson added.
This is all part of ONE BANANA’s plan to become the new and innovative brand that retailers have asked for and customers will love.
“We are positioning ourselves with the customer as the banana company whose growing and business practices allow them to actually know their banana - its growers, their communities, and the land it’s grown on,” Carlson said. “We are ONE - the banana company that connects you to the most fun and delicious fruit in the world. Directly and transparently.”
Looking to the future, ONE BANANA is expanding its multi-sourcing approach by adding acreage in Ecuador with plans to grow its operations in Panama and Peru as well. The company also has plans to expand its Organic Bananas and is looking to add additional products like plantains.
With Carlson now leading the charge in North America, it will be interesting to see what else this new company will be able to achieve.
WASHINGTON – Washington State agriculture has broken records for three years in a row with production values reaching $10.2 billion in 2013.
The newly released 2014 Washington Annual Agriculture Bulletin, which is complied by the USDA, has broken down Washington’s 2013 crops by commodity.
Apples maintained their position as the state's top crop with 156,000 pounds harvested for a total of $2.2 billion.
Rounding out the top three were milk at number 2 with $1.3 billion, a 12% increase over 2012, and wheat at number 3 with $1 billion, a 13% decrease.
The rest of the top 10 include:
- Potatoes with $792 million, a 13% increase
- Beef with $706.4 million, a 7% increase
- Hay with $675 million, as 8% increase
- Cherries with $385.2 million, a 23% decrease
- Grapes with $278.6%, a 12% increase
- Pears with $225.4 million, a 10% increase
- Hops with $202.1 million, a 40% increase
According to the USDA, Washington ranks first in the nation for the production of apples, Concord grapes, sweet cherries, pears, red raspberries, green peas for processing, carrots for processing, hops, spearmint oils, peppermint oils and wrinkled seed peas.
The Evergreen States also ranks second for potatoes, nectarines, apricots and all grapes.
With the recent news that China will now accept all varieties of Washington Apples in the next few weeks, apples are primed to hold their spot as the state’s top commodity.