Archive For The “News” Category
An interactive online game featuring Ernie the Elephant fromWonderful Pistachios, Los Angeles, is launching Destroy Ernie’s Evidence.
Voiced by wrestling celebrity John Cena, players help Ernie destroy incriminating evidence from a party with the Squirrel Sisters the evening before in a series of online games that will be released every two weeks.
“Ernie’s influence has already led to pistachios’ sales volume increasing by more than 35 percent,” Adam Cooper, vice president of marketing at Wonderful Pistachios, said in a news release. “Whether you are throwing an Ernie-sized party to watch your favorite sport or playing our ‘Destroy Ernie’s Evidence’ game, Wonderful Pistachios is the smart snack to satisfy your cravings without compromising your healthy eating goals.”
The company is offering more than $100,000 in prizes, including a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and a trip for four to the Coachella Music Festival.
“From partying with the Squirrel Sisters to inadvertently trashing a treadmill on Super Bowl Sunday, Ernie the Elephant has won the hearts of pistachio lovers everywhere with his larger-than-life personality,” Michael Perdigao, president at Wonderful Agency, the company’s in-house advertising and communications agency. “Now fans can fully engage with Ernie by joining him on a journey to uncover what actually happened on his wild night through this one-of-a-kind interactive gaming experience.”
Consumers can visit helpernie.com for more information on the game and prizes.
About Wonder Pistachios
The Wonderful Company is a privately held $4 billion company committed to offering high-quality, healthy brands and helping consumers make better choices, every day.
We grow, harvest, bottle, package, and market a diverse range of healthy products, including fruits, nuts, flowers, water, wines and juices. The Wonderful Company’s diverse holdings make it the world’s largest grower of tree nuts, America’s largest citrus grower, and the world’s largest flower delivery service with the Teleflora network of florists.
We believe there is incredible power in the Wonderful family of brands to inspire healthier choices and to support our communities. By helping nourish our neighbors with high-quality, healthy products, we believe we can grow a better worl
Loxahatchee, FL – J&J Family of Farms® is always looking for ways to attract and bring value to its customers. This season, J&J is doing just that, with the introduction of its Field-Grown Colored Pepper program. The company plans to keep fulfilling consumer demand in new and innovative ways with the new product line.
J&J Family of Farms worked closely with Seminis® in order to bring customers and consumers a unique Field-Grown Colored Pepper that has thick walls and a long shelf life. Seminis is known to bring the latest product offerings to the market.
This growing season has resulted in good crops and excellent yields in Florida. The new Field-Grown red and yellow pepper are available now.
“We are constantly looking to perfect our produce year after year, and we are confident that we have the best colored pepper variety in the market.” said Chris Coffman, Sr. VP, Marketing and Strategy for J&J. “We are excited to bring our Field-Grown Colored Peppers to the market. It’s dense and yields a higher net weight, making it excellent for processors. We believe it’s going to take time to educate our customers about this new Field-Grown Colored Pepper, but once they have it in their hands, they will experience the quality and great taste for themselves.”
About J&J Family of Farms:
Established in 1983, J&J Family of Farms specializes in growing cucumbers, bell peppers, squash, green beans and eggplant. J&J manages over 14,000 acres of production from its own farms and partners, and has operations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona and Mexico.
About Seminis Vegetable Seeds:
For over 150 years, the Seminis legacy has focused on producing the best vegetable seed varieties for growers to use in farming operations around the world. We are proud to support our grower partners by continuously developing new seed varieties through our global research and development team and specialty breeders, and by providing ongoing agronomic solutions to unique farming challenges.
by Veg-Fresh Farms
Corona, CA – For the second year in a row, Veg-Fresh Farms is supporting NASCAR K&N Pro Series West competition driver Blaine Perkins as a season sponsor.
Perkins, the teenaged son of Ryan Perkins, director of sales at Bakersfield stalwart Delano Farms, will be driving for his second year under the tutelage of veteran NASCAR driver Steve Portenga. In 2016 (his rookie season), Perkins tallied ten top-10 finishes in fourteen appearances and has been dubbed “a rising star” by NASCAR journalists.
With this sponsorship, Veg-Fresh Farms will place the logo of its organic brand, Good Life Organic™, on the hood of Perkins’ race car. Other sponsors include Four Star Fruit, Golden Gate Meat Company, and Double Eagle Produce.
“We’re excited to partner again with Veg-Fresh Farms along with all our other great sponsors –they help make each season possible. We’re looking forward to having our friends at Veg-Fresh cheering Blaine on at our Irwindale race coming up March 25!” said Ryan Perkins at Delano Farms.
“We’re proud to support Blaine in another year of his racing career. Not only do we see this as an excellent way to honor our friendship and partnership with the Delano Farms team, but we also see value in getting our organic brand in front of Blaine’s fans and social media followers. That generation is queued to be the next one making purchase decisions at the store, so we’re excited about the idea of getting in front of them now,” said Dino Cancellieri, General Partner at Veg-Fresh Farms.
The 2017 K&N Pro Series season kicked off in February, with more races scheduled throughout the spring, summer, and late fall. Perkins’ races will be broadcast live on NBC Sports throughout the season.
About Blaine Perkins Racing
Born and bred in Southern California’s Bakersfield region, 16-year old Blaine Perkins is a full-time driver of the #21 car in the NASCAR K&N West Series Championship under the leadership of Steve Portenga. Perkins finished 9th overall in points for the NASCAR K&N West Series, and boasted ten top-10 finishes and one top-5 finish in 2016.
About Veg-Fresh Farms
Veg-Fresh Farms is a third-generation, family-run agribusiness, currently providing fresh produce to national food service chains and national retailers under the Veg-Fresh Farms, Crystal Cove Berry Farms, and Good Life Organic™ labels. https://vegfresh.com
by Pioneer Growers
Belle Glade, FL – Pioneer Growers has announced the near completion of their new facility expansion that includes expanded cold storage and processing facilities at their Belle Glade, FL location.
The facility became operational recently, and this is the third and final phase of a mid-term expansion plan that includes 64,000 additional square feet of space for processing, storage, and office space. The Florida facility now includes 13 docks and 700 new pallet spaces to aid in cooling incoming product and staging outgoing shipments.
Vice President and General Manager Gene Duff remarked, “As one of the largest fresh sweet corn growers in the U.S. it’s important that we continue to expand and improve our facilities to meet not only growing demand, but to maintain production efficiencies that continue to improve our product handling and quality.”
Construction of the phase three project began in August of 2016 and was part of a 5-year plan that included previous expansions of processing, receiving and packing areas and features Thermomass tilt wall construction.
Pioneer is currently shipping sweet corn, cabbage and radishes along with green beans which are processed in the new Phase 3 expansion.
In closing Duff remarked, “Pioneer Growers has always been an industry leader and our growers and employees are proud and excited to work in the most modern facility in the Glades where we produce and ship some of the freshest, best quality sweet corn and vegetables grown anywhere in the U.S.”
Pioneer Growers is a grower owned marketing cooperative specializing in fresh sweet corn and mixed vegetables including green beans, radishes, and cabbage. Today, Pioneer is a leader in the sweet corn industry offering year-round availability with more than 13,000 acres across Florida, Georgia and the Northeast with a focus on premium quality driven by their commitment to super sweet varieties packed in the Pioneer and Green Giant Fresh brands.
Florida tomato shipments and vegetable shipments – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
U.S. federal regulators are preparing to clamp down on those in the food supply chain ranging from shippers to truckers who do not comply with the federal government’s new food transportation safety rule coming in April.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011. It aims to ensure the U.S. food supply, from the way it is grown, harvested and processed, to ensure it is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it.
Many businesses have been slow to prepare for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulation on the sanitary transportation of human and animal food, implemented in response to the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. Some industry experts see the transportation industry as being pretty clueless about the rules. Tough talk has been coming from those who are to enforce the new act.
The law was prompted after many reported incidents of foodborne illnesses during the first decade of the 2000s. Tainted food has cost the food industry billions of dollars in recalls, lost sales and legal expenses.
This bill is similar to the Food Safety Enhancement Act which passed the House in 2009. It is considered the first major piece of federal legislation addressing food safety since 1938. ] It is also the first piece of legislation to address intentional adulteration.
The changes are expected force shippers and carriers to have some serious talks involving new contracts or adjusting tweaks to existing agreements.
The new act will effect everything from the loading dock to the receiver’s dock and will need to document procedures, processes, training and records.
Transport Topics recently quoted Leonard “Bud” Rodowick, an executive at transport refrigeration unit supplier Thermo King Corp as saying, “It’s government on steroids.” Indeed, the scope of the new rule is broad, requiring shippers, carriers, brokers, receivers and loaders to hone their best sanitary food transportation practices. The 283-page rule places the primary burden on shippers and manufacturers to ensure that the proper written procedures and data collection are in place to keep food properly cooled and trailers cleaned between loads.
However, it also requires carriers to make good on their promises to shippers. The new FDA requirements are part of the federal government’s larger effort to prevent food safety problems, rather than reacting to crises when food becomes contaminated.
All of the units are now full on the San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market, and now it is starting its next phase of development.
With all 50 of the produce market’s spaces available for lease being occupied, and it is now pre-selling lots in an industrial park scheduled to be completed in late 2018.
Once a company purchases a lot, which is about 10,000 square feet, it can build a warehouse there to its specifications.
Companies can start construction on their individual warehouses after the completion of the infrastructure of the industrial park, which will include streets and parking, water, sewer and electric services, and security, cleaning and maintenance of common areas.
“Our business is definitely moving in the right direction,” said Luz Moreno, sales and marketing director for San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market.
“The interest is definitely very good.”
Warehouses built on lots in the industrial park will allow for significantly more storage than current units, which are about 4,000 square feet.
Those hold about 150 pallets, while the warehouses built on the lots in the industrial park should be able to hold nearly 650 pallets.
San Antonio Produce Terminal Market is located at the address 1500 S Zarzamora St in San Antonio, Texas 78207. They can be contacted via phone at (210) 223-1235 for pricing, hours and directions. It was founded in 1948.
San Antonio Produce Terminal Market has an annual sales volume of $5 to 10 million. For more information contact Tom Preston, Executive Director
Starting this month produce shipping company Del Monte will add container shipping vessels to its Port Manatee itinerary, it was announced recently by the port.
Arrivals of Del Monte container vessels will be “periodically in a controlled growth,” according to the port.
While Del Monte isn’t completely switching to containerized cargo, the company will use container vessels at Port Manatee about every three weeks. Container vessels can hold 350 containers, compared to 96 containers on a breakbulk ship, according to the port.
Breakbulk differs from containerized cargo because loose materials or products are loaded, shipped and unloaded individually. When it comes to container shipping, storage units are used to encase the cargo.
At a recent Manatee County Port Authority meeting, it was revealed the port is considering updating Port Manatee’s crane technology with the increase of containerized cargo.
The Port Authority also approved a recorded easement and installation agreement with Florida Power and Light to install a transformer in the port’s container yard. The transformer will power 124 new refrigerated plugs that are necessary for cold containerized cargo storage.
While the port does seek to boost its container volume in the upcoming year, Port Manatee doesn’t plan to stop accepting breakbulk shipments.
Port officials have expressed the need for the capability to handle both breakbulk and container. While Port Manatee can handle breakbulk, most ports in Florida are not ready to handle breakbulk for fruits and vegetables. Containerization allows the port to reach further because now you don’t have to break the cold chain.
About Port Manatee
Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deep water seaport to the Panama Canal, serving bulk, break bulk, container, heavy lift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.
Consumers are less likely to not buy Idaho-branded bagged russet potatoes due to price changes than potatoes from other states, according to a new study.
The Idaho Potato Commission commissioned the study conducted by economist Timothy Richards of Arizona State University, which used retail scan data for the two-year period.
The numbers indicate that Idaho potatoes have a higher consumer preference and can command a more premium retail price or markup.
“The research showed that for russets, Idaho russets are less price elastic than non-Idaho russets,” said Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail and international programs for the commission. “When price goes up on Idaho (russets), the resulting lost volume is significantly less than non-Idaho russets.”
Photo courtesy of Idaho Potato Commission
Pemsler said the findings suggest that if retailers don’t discount Idaho russets to the same degree as non-Idaho russets, there wouldn’t be a significant effect on volume sold.
The study showed that overall price elasticity of bagged Idaho russets was 1.26 compared with 1.91 for bagged russets from other areas.
The study breaks down data from the entire U.S. and eight separate regions over the two-year period, according to an executive summary of the research.
In addition, Idaho potatoes are the least vulnerable to competitive pricing.
Based on scan data of 5- and 10-pound bags, Idaho russet potatoes have the highest profit margin potential compared with potatoes from other origins.
“The fact is that even if you pay 10 cents a bag more for Idaho russets, you can charge 20 cents per bag more at retail,” Pemsler said
Bulk potatoes were not evaluated because of inconsistencies found in the data due to the nature of price-look-up stickers and misidentification of variety and brand/origin at checkout registers.
Bagged potatoes represented 70 percent of all potato volume tracked during the two-year study.
Pemsler estimated about 60 percent of retailers in the U.S. carry both Idaho and non-Idaho bagged russets. The data has not yet been published but more details are available from the Idaho Potato Commission at Seth.Pemsler@potato.idaho.gov.
This past year loaded shipping container volume reached an all-time high at the Port of Oakland, CA.
The port reported a 7.6 percent increase handling the equivalent of 1.83 million loaded 20-foot containers last year — which beat the previous record of 1.82 million 20-footers in 2013.
The port attributed the milestone to a year-long containerized export boom, as well as growth in imports. It noted the record is important since loaded container volume is a key measure used to calculate fees paid by Oakland’s marine terminal tenants. Increased volume means the port gained business in 2016, even though it consolidated five terminals into four.
“This is a gratifying outcome,” Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll said in a press release.
Port officials said total 2016 volume — full and empty containers — equaled 2.37 million 20-foot containers, up 4 percent from 2015.
Containerized export volume jumped 10.5 percent in 2016. In December, exports were up 13.5 percent — the fourth straight month of double-digit export growth.
Oakland import volume increased 4.7 percent last year, while December imports were up 6.1 percent.
Exports accounted for 52 percent of Oakland’s loaded container volume in 2016.
Port of Oakland History
Originally, the enclosed coaster body of water, 500 feet wide, had a depth of two feet at mean low tide. In 1852, the year of Oakland‘s incorporation as a town by the California State Legislature, large shipping wharves were constructed along the Oakland Estuary, which was dredged to create a viable shipping channel. 22 years later, in 1874, the previously dredged shipping channel was deepened to make Oakland a deep water port.
In the late 19th century, the Southern Pacific was granted exclusive rights to the port, a decision the city soon came to regret. In January 1906, a small work party in the employ of the Western Pacific Railroad, which had just begun construction, hastily threw a crossing over the SP line to connect the WP mainline with trackage built on an area of landfill. This act, protested by the SP and later held up in court, broke the railroad’s grip on the port area. The courts ruled that all landfill since the date of the agreement did not belong to the SP. This ruling ended SP control and made the modern Port of Oakland possible.
Organic produce in various categories continues to show significant growth in popularity.
According to FreshFacts on Retail, published by the United Fresh Produce Association for the third-quarter of 2016, weekly dollar sales of organic vegetables per store were up 7.6 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015. Dollar sales of organic fruit were up 17.5 percent.
Organic Attitudes and Beliefs 2016 published by The Organic Trade Association found over 82 percent of American families say they buy organic sometimes, one of the highest levels in the survey’s seven-year history.
Almost 5 percent of all the food sold in the U.S. in 2015 was organic.
Suppliers of organic produce were reporting sizeable increases.
Naturipe Farms LLC of Salinas, CA, the world’s larger produce of organic blueberries, doubling its production of organic blueberries in Argentina and Chile.
This month the company is producing its first crops of organic raspberries, blackberries and blueberries from Mexico and is investing in new production of organic strawberries, blueberries and blackberries in California and Florida.
Well-Pict Inc. of Watsonville started its new spring crop of strawberries from Ventura County, CA in mid-January, and will be shipping into spring.
Boskovich Farms Inc., of Oxnard, CA ships a number of organic vegetables led by kale, then Brussels sprouts, green onions and celery.
Stemilt Growers LLC, Wenatchee, WA is shipping organic apples and pears, with approximately 10 percent of it apple shipments coming from organic apples with galas, Honeycrisp, and granny smith among the top varieties.
CMI Orchards LLC in Wenatchee, WA has organic shipments that are up about 50 percent, with the trend expected to continue for the next four years. More acreage is being transitioned from conventional to organic. CMI offers 15 organic apple varieties and six organic pear varieties.
Viva Tierra Organic Inc., Sedro-Woolley, WA is handling organic apple supplies from Argentina and Chile that started earlier this month, in addition to its organic supply from Washington.