WASHINGTON, DC - After satisfying a $40,885 reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), the United States Department of Agriculture announced that it has lifted reparation sanctions for Texas-based Always Fresco.

Direct From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:

The McAllen, Texas, company has met its obligations and is now free to operate in the produce industry. Guadalupe Quintanilla Jr., and Edgar Rios were listed as managers of the business and may now be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions. This may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it, as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

Once a reparation order is fully satisfied and it is confirmed that there are not any outstanding unpaid awards, USDA lifts the employment restrictions of the previously named, responsibly connected individuals.

For contact information and to read the release in its entirety, click here.

ROSEMONT, IL - What demands are currently impacting foodservice operators? As consumers’ lifestyles and dietary habits change, US Foods is helping its partners up their appeal with its Serve You lineup of offerings, spotlighted in the company’s recent Spring 2024 Scoop™ release.

“Given evolving dietary and lifestyle preferences, it’s more important than ever for operators to appeal to a variety of diner desires, but the challenge is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” said Stacey Kinkaid, Vice President of Product Development and Innovation for US Foods. “With Spring Scoop, we’ve delivered a variety of on-trend, high-quality products that can meet specific preferences, while also appealing to all diners regardless of their dietary or lifestyle choices. Most importantly, all products help save operators back-of-house labor and are highly versatile without sacrificing flavor.”

The “Get to Know Serve You” issue highlights products under the company’s newly branded “Serve You” portfolio, which features more than 1,700 US Foods Exclusive Brands products that offer plant-forward, gluten-free certified, or clean ingredient labels with no ingredients on the US Foods Unpronounceables List®, a press release explained.

Serve You products are developed with operator needs in mind and offer menu versatility and labor savings of between 30-90 minutes per case as compared to making them from scratch. The products are crafted to appeal to diners who want more personalization given their dietary and lifestyle preferences.

One key trend made clear by the Spring 2024 Scoop is the prominence of plant-forward products, as US Foods noted that plant-forward products on the menu are expected to grow by more than 517 percent over the next four years as more vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diners seek expanded dining options.

The distributor is also catering to gluten-free certified demands, as nearly 30 percent of consumers are limiting or avoiding gluten, making it critical for foodservice operators to offer a variety of flavorful gluten-free options.

Last but not least, the Serve You lineup focuses on clean ingredient labels. Seventy-eight percent of consumers find clean-label products appealing, according to the release, and the company’s Unpronounceables List initiative offers products with ingredient profiles that do not contain certain ingredients, such as artificial flavors and artificial colors, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, or added MSG.

To view the full Spring Scoop, click here.

And for more of the latest industry trends and insights, stick with ANUK.

WASHINGTON, DC - Strawberry French toast may not have been on the school breakfast menu when I was in school, but the kids at Smothers Elementary School in Northeast Washington, DC, were served it in celebration of National School Breakfast Week. The week-long event highlights the importance of nutritious breakfast for students and gets children excited about produce consumption.

“Fun, on-trend recipes like Strawberry French Toast encourage kids’ curiosity and enthusiasm for a healthy breakfast that includes fresh fruit. It is our mission, and our joy, to create opportunities for more young people to access fruits and vegetables, while also teaching healthy eating habits,” said Alex DiNovo, Board Chair of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Foundation for Fresh Produce and President of DNO Produce.

IFPA, along with DC Public Schools (DCPS), DC Central Kitchen, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS), partnered to bring this fun, tasty, and nutritious, new breakfast recipe to DC students, a release reported. DiNovo sat down for breakfast with the students on behalf of IFPA, which organized the meal.

Strawberry French Toast is one of the 10 recipes featured in the Foundation’s new resource, which highlights 10 fruit and vegetable-forward breakfast recipes tailored specifically for K-12 school nutrition programs. The recipes are designed to assist school foodservice professionals in meeting the newly proposed updates to the USDA's school nutrition standards for added sugar limits.

The recipes feature nutritional information, crediting information to align with meal pattern requirements, and guidance on serving these fruit- and vegetable-forward meals in various school breakfast settings, including grab-and-go and breakfast in the classroom.

To read more about these organizations’ efforts, click here.

As the industry works hard to promote fresh produce, AndNowUKnow will share the latest updates.

MONTEREY, CA - Fresh, healthy flavors are headed to the Chopped Salad Kit space as Dole Fresh Vegetables expands its popular lineup. Joining its selection of refrigerated salad sets at supermarkets throughout North America, the brand is rolling out three new on-trend flavor varieties starting April 1.

“Our strategy is to create the most compelling salad kit flavor varieties in the industry, and then work with our retail partners to make it easy for salad consumers to shop and choose Dole,” said David Austin, Dole Fresh Vegetables Vice President of Product Innovation. “These new Chopped Salad Kit flavors were developed through an extensive development and research process to deliver the popular flavors consumers are seeking and to validate those flavors with consumers to ensure they meet expectations.”

The flavor-forward Chopped Salad varieties include:

• Italian Sub Salad Kit: DOLE® Romaine lettuce, green and red cabbage, and carrots are tossed with savory pepperoni sausage, provolone cheese, hearty Tuscan herb croutons, and Dole’s tangy Italian dressing
• Creamy Greek Salad Kit: A fresh, Mediterranean-inspired mix of DOLE Romaine lettuce, green and red cabbage, and carrots is finished with feta cheese, sun-dried tomato croutons, tomato basil seasoning, and Dole’s Tzatziki dressing. This enhanced kit replaces Dole’s current Chopped Greek Kit
• Sweet Corn Salad Kit: DOLE green leaf lettuce, kale, green and red cabbage, carrots, and green onions are enhanced with crispy sweet corn, crunchy blue corn tortilla strips, and chili-lime seasoning, and then topped with Dole’s Creamy Sweet Corn Dressing made with sweet corn puree

The debut of this trio of salad kits is being supported by a national marketing program encompassing trade show trials, advertising, PR, and at-retail point of sale, a press release noted. The new kits bring the total number of DOLE Chopped Salad Kit flavor varieties to 21.

How will the company continue to leverage high-quality fresh vegetables and evolving consumer flavor trends to broaden its portfolio? ANUK will be here to report.