Posts Tagged “feature”
by Fresh Solutions Network, LLC
San Francisco, CA – Fresh Solutions Network applauded the March 23rd episode of Dr. Oz – giving American’s “Permission to eat potatoes again” noting that potatoes are “nutrient power houses” that surprisingly pack about “100 calories per spud” and have zero grams of fat.
Dr. Oz opened his show handing potatoes out to the audience, correcting the misconceptions of “Tater Haters” with nutritional facts on America’s favorite side dish.
The low-carb diet craze damaged the reputation of the potato by creating the misconception that potatoes were “fattening” and unhealthy. As Dr. Oz and other notable experts in the medical and scientific community have clarified, potatoes have a number of nutritional benefits that may surprise consumers. In addition to being fat free, gluten-free, sodium free and low-calorie – potatoes are rich in Vitamin C, have more potassium than a banana or broccoli and are vegan and non-GMO.
“We are excited that consumers are finally hearing the great news about potatoes that those of us in the industry have known for a long time,” said Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network, “Products like Side Delights® fresh potatoes are a natural, healthy, family favorite side dish, and we expect to see an increase in purchasing habits as the medical community and consumer media help restore the reputation of the potato.”
The syndicated series is set to air its 10th season in 2018/2019. Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the show since its premier has called the show a “field guide in helping viewers navigate their path to wellness.”
About Fresh Solutions Network, LLC:
Fresh Solutions Network is a group of family owned growers and shippers who choose to work together to make the potato and onion industry better for everyone. FSN helps fresh potato and onion buyers grow their categories, maximize category investment, and increase sales. FSN delivers category insights, collaborative innovation and customized assortment. Fresh Solutions Network, LLC partners are: Sterman Masser, Inc. (Masser Potato Farms and Keystone Potato Products in Sacramento and Hegins, PA), Michael Family Farms, Inc. (Urbana, OH), Basin Gold Cooperative, Inc. (Pasco, WA), Green Thumb Farms, Inc. (Fryeburg, ME), Red Isle Potato Growers, Ltd. (Prince Edward Island, Canada), NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND), Sun-Glo of Idaho, Inc. (Sugar City, ID) and Mack Farms (Lake Wales, FL).
While the Salinas Valley to the north and Ventura County to the south often get more attention when it comes to produce shipments, the Santa Maria area also has significant volume. But like Salinas, Santa Maria is having shipping issues.
By late March, the incessant rain that pounded the Santa Maria region and most of California this winter seemed to be subsiding, but the effects of the storms will be felt for some time.
In similar fashion to the Salinas Valley, there are going to be shipping gaps this year. The gaps in availability of certain vegetables will continue until the middle of May.
Around 40 different vegetable items, Similar to Salinas, are grown in Santa Maria including organic and conventional iceberg lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, leaf lettuce, spinach, cilantro, parsley, kale, green onions and Brussels sprouts.
Quality problems have hit cauliflower and broccoli due to excessive rains. While drier weather has occurred recently, you should still use caution when loading looking for possible quality issues.
Santa Maria actually stretches about 40 miles from Lompoc in the south to Oceano in the north. Most of the Santa Maria district is located in northern Santa Barbara County with the city and valley of Santa Maria being its epicenter. The most northern reaches of the district is found in San Luis Obispo County. The city of Santa Maria is found about 170 miles north of Los Angeles and 270 miles south of San Francisco. Much closer is Santa Barbara — 60 miles to the south — and San Luis Obispo — 30 miles to the north. The Pacific Ocean is about 15 miles west of Santa Maria. Several major grower-shippers are located in Guadalupe, which also is located between the Pacific Ocean and Santa Maria.
Santa Barbara County’s top 10 crops are strawberries, broccoli, wine grapes, cut flowers, nursery products, head lettuce, cauliflower, raspberries, avocados and celery. In 2015, each of these crops accounted for more than $43 million in sales led by strawberries at $438 million, which far outpaces the second place finisher, which is broccoli at $164 million. Santa Maria Valley strawberry acreage has seen a big increase in the past decade.
Vegetable shipments remain an important part of agriculture representing over 30 percent of revenues at about $540 million in 2015. Staple vegetable crops, including broccoli and lettuce, are the mainstays, but the Santa Maria area growers produce virtually every vegetable shipped from specialty baby vegetables to kale to Swiss chard to brussels sprouts.
Santa Maria, Ventura County and Salinas vegetables – all grossing about $4800 to Atlanta.
A Florida port experiences a record month for imports, while another acquisition occurs in the citrus shipping industry.
Central and South American fresh produce imports have been credited with causing a record breaking month – December -for Port Everglades in Florida’s Broward County. Those imports have been steadily increasing, according to port officials.
Port Everglades had volume of 104,590 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), according to a news release, making December the highest output month in the port’s 90-year history.
December’s volume was 15 percent over December 2015.
“Our customers are bringing in higher volumes of consumer goods such as produce, clothing and household goods as the region’s population increases,” Port Everglades chief executive and port Director Steven Cernak said in the release. “It’s an indication of a strengthening economy.”
A good part of the increase is due to shipments from perishable products from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Other regions also showed increases, Cernak said.
“Port Everglades helped spearhead a pilot program to bring refrigerated produce from South America directly to Florida, when it was previously restricted to only coming into northern U.S. ports,” Jim Pyburn, Port Everglades director of business development, said in the release. “The pilot program was a great success and now we are seeing a wider variety of produce coming to South Florida faster and fresher than when it was trucked here from the Northeast.”
Wonderful Citrus acquires DNE
Wonderful Citrus of Delano, CA has acquired citrus marketer DNE World Fruit of Ft. Pierce, FL, citrus exporter DNE International and the assets of World Pack Cold Storage, a division of DNE Imports.
Wonderful Citrus is now the top importer of counter-seasonal citrus products in the U.S. since the purchase and the move doubles the company’s grapefruit position, according to a news release. Along with DNE’s citrus marketing and import business, Wonderful acquires World Pack’s distribution center in New Jersey.
This will not be the first time Wonderful is importing citrus. The company had trials in previous years and last year, for the first time, created programs from countries including Chile, Peru, Australia and South Africa.
DNE has imported from those countries as well as others.
Here are shipping updates on Mexican and South Texas sweet onion shipments. We also update Western vegetable shipments transitioning from the desert areas to up north in Salinas Valley. Finally, it appears Florida blueberry shipments will be good despite a killing Southeastern freeze.
It is the tail end of Mexican sweet onion shipments out of Mexico crossing the border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Still about 400 truck loads should cross the border next week, and perhaps the week after that. Meanwhile, South Texas sweet onion shipments have been underway for several weeks and will continue for a few more weeks.
By contrast, in New York, steady loadings of storage onions are occurring from Orange County, but volume is less than 150 truck loads a week .
Onions from the California desert get underway from El Centro around April 18 -20.
New Mexico onion loadings from the southern part of the state will start at the end of May or early June.
The nation’s biggest volume shipments of onions are from storages out of the Idaho, Eastern Oregon area, amounting to about 875 truck loads per week.
Idaho, Malheur County, Oregon onions – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
Mexican tropical fruits and vegetables – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
Salinas Vegetable Shipments
The transition from the deserts of California and Yuma, AZ are starting, but this is going to require some patience on the part of produce truckers. With the desert areas wrapping up shipments early and Salinas vegetables getting a late start, this simply means SHIPPING GAPS!
Florida Blueberry Shipments
A freeze that swept through an estimated three-quarters of Georgia’s $400 million blueberry crop around St. Patrick’s Day could turn into an Easter boon for Florida blueberry shippers.
Florida skirted the most damaging parts of the cold wave that enveloped the Southeast and wrecked much of Georgia’s blueberry crop, with temperatures reported in the low 20s.
However, Florida dodged the bullet, with only minimal damage in Gainesville and north/ Blueberries grown south of I-4 are fine.
At Wish Farms in Hawthorne, FL, located east of Gainesville, temperatures dropped to as low as 28 degrees F., but it emerged relatively unscathed.
Florida’s peak shipments for blueberries are during April and May. How much? Good question. Whether the Florida blueberry industry is embarrassed with their production compared to larger producing states, or they are just secretive isn’t clear. You just don’t see volume statistics readily available.
By Robinson Fresh
Do you ship human food? What about perishable animal food? If so, the Sanitary Transportation of Food Rule, which is a part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), will take effect on April 1 and impact many in our industry.
We have received a variety of questions around this ruling and what shippers and carriers need to do to prepare. In this blog post, Chris McLoughlin, risk manager at C.H. Robinson, and I will cover what you need to know.
Three key takeaways:
- Which products are subject to the rule? The rule applies to items that are shipped open to the air, temperature controlled for safety, or shipped in bulk trailers or tankers via truck or rail. The emphasis here is on food shipped for safety, not quality. Many people think produce is covered under the temperature controlled rule, but most produce is not—with a few exceptions, it’s more commonly only subject to the open container portion of the rule. This distinction is important, as the purpose is not to create undue burden or throw away product which is safe for human or animal consumption.
- When does the rule go into effect? There are different implementation dates for small and large carriers and small and large shippers. However, most shippers expect all carriers and transportation providers, regardless of size, to fully comply with the rule at the earliest date of April 2017.
- How does the Sanitary Transportation of Food rule connect to FSMA? The Sanitary Transportation of Food rule is only one rule of several under FSMA. Each of the rules stands on its own. The language, definitions, and applicability of each rule varies. You should take time to understand the scope of each rule. Especially if you’re in the produce world, you may find that your product is exempt from one rule, but included in another.
I want to reiterate that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated this rule is not intended to impose significant new requirements in the industry—in fact, the industry is already completing steps within the rule. The rule is simply a restatement or formal recognition of industry best practices and the requirement to document these processes.
Impact on Produce Shipping
When it comes to the produce world, it’s important to think about the role each company plays in the movement of goods under this rule. Are you the one calling the shots for how the product is delivered? (Often, the person or organization determining needs is a retailer or wholesaler.) If you are the one tendering the load, you are considered the “shipper” under this rule and are responsible for defining specific obligations.
Two of the nation’s largest family-run organic fresh produce operations have joined forces to build a state-of-the-art cooling and distribution facility in Yerington, NV.
First announced in December 2016, Walker River Cooling will service retailers, processors, wholesalers and other buying organizations throughout North America. Construction of the facility broke ground in early September 2016 and is on track to open in May 2017.
Two major goals of the new operation are sustainability and positive economic impact. “The Peri and Nunes families’ 40-plus years of cooling experience and industry knowledge has gone into developing a best-of-class facility in terms of cooling mechanisms, temperature control, product flow and industrial safety and food safety,” Tom Nunes V said in a press release.
The combined operations of the two companies have brought over 800 jobs to Lyon County to date, with additional job growth projected upon completion of the new distribution facility.
“This venture is a great example of the success we’re witnessing across Nevada. I am proud to congratulate and thank this hometown company for investing in the region and bringing good paying jobs to Lyon County,” Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said in the release. “The commitment of these two family-run companies shows their ability to creatively and strategically meet the demands of the marketplace. Nevada is proud to be a part of this vision and the positive impact it will have on our community.”
by Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
LEAMINGTON, ON – Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) has recently launched their annual winter cucumber program “Always in Season.” This program signifies the ramp up of production for all varieties of Ontario greenhouse grown seedless cucumbers and informs Ontario consumers of their availability during the cold winter months.
The growing demand for Ontario greenhouse seedless cucumbers is motivated by consumers’ healthy eating choices. Our growers have increased production to ensure the supply is abundant for Ontario consumers and retailers.
“Consumers can once again find fresh, tasty Ontario greenhouse cucumbers in their local stores” said OGVG General Manager, Rick Seguin. “There’s no need to wait”.
This program is supported by key Canadian retailers. This year’s campaign includes new recipe ideas, retailer flyer ads indicating product of Canada and a media campaign designed to raise awareness of availability of locally grown greenhouse seedless cucumbers. For new recipes and other meal ideas visit www.OGVG.com.
About OGVG
Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) is a not-for-profit association, representing over 200 growers who grow greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on over 2,850 acres in
Here’s an overview on the soaring volume of imported mangoes, plus a shipping update on California strawberries leading up to Easter.
Since 2005, imported mango shipments have increased over 75 percent, from 62 million boxes in 2005 to 109 million boxes in 2016. Once considered an exotic fruit, mangoes are becoming more mainstream now than ever, and visibility continues to increase yearly as more consumers demand them.
Imports of the tommy atkins mango variety and now crossing the border into South Texas (about 250 truck loads a week) through Nogales, AZ. Crossings at both areas are increasing as the Mexican mango season ramps up.
Peruvian mango imports have been in a surplus this year, with 50 percent more of the tropical fruit than the previous season, which is coming to a close. Besides Mexico, imported fruit has recently started from Guatemala and will get underway from Haiti in April.
Mexican tropical fruit and vegetables crossing the border in South Texas – grossing about $4800 to Boston.
California Strawberry Shipments
If California’s “monsoon” season is finally behind it there is a lot of hope there will be heavy strawberry shipments in the weeks and months ahead. California strawberry loadings are behind in shipments compared to two years ago, when the season kicked off extremely early for lack of rain.
California strawberry shipments had totaled 5.2 million trays at the by the end of the week of March 11th, down a little from the 6.7 million shipped the same time a year earlier. However, this was far less than the 12.9 million trays shipped by that time in 2015.
Strawberry shipments set records in 2016, harvesting 196.4 million trays. Volume for the previous year, despite the early start, was 189.9 million trays. Total California strawberry shipments this should be similar to 2016. The state has 36,141 acres this year compared to 36,039 acres last year, while yields continue to increase significantly.
California ships over 87 percent of the strawberries in the U.S.
Ventura County now is gearing up for peak season strawberry shipments. The Santa Maria got underway in late February and volume has been increasing during March. The Salinas/Watsonville area is just now getting underway. Peak shipments are expected in time for deliveries leading up to Easter — April 16.
Light volume with Santa Maria strawberries, cauliflower and broccoli shipments – grossing about $5800 to New York City
IRVINE, Calif. — Gem Pack LLC is a new company that will be marketing strawberries the year around and has been formed by three Irvine-based family strawberry growers.
The fruit will be shipped by Orange County Produce LLC, Fujishige Farms Inc. and Mike Etchandy Farms Inc. under the Gem Pack label. All sales and shipping for the three companies are now being handled by Gem Pack.
However, Orange County Produce, Fujishige Farms and Mike Etchandy Farms will retain their own identities as they continue their strawberry growing operations. The move is a matter of survival. For example, Orange County Produce was launched as a small company, but has grown and has made the change to become more competitive in the marketplace.
Gem Pack sources from 1,000 acres in central Mexico, 500 acres in Watsonville, 800 acres in Oxnard (200 summer-planted and 600 winter-planted) and 200 acres in Orange County. The company also has 100 acres of organic strawberries in Watsonville and Orange County.
The father’s of the three operations have a long history of cooperation, since the growers’ dads were partners. Each family owned business is in its third generation.
Gem Pack will market all the berry brands from the three companies as well as the Healthy Harvest label from the Gonzales family in Watsonville. Labels include Orange County Produce, Ventura County and Opus/Frosun out of Mexico.
Eventually, the company may consolidate into a single label, but for now, the local labels will remain intact for the benefit of retailers who prefer to emphasize locally grown strawberries.
The Gem Pack label was created for the benefit of retail customers who prefer an exclusive label year-round. Many customers such as retailers, wholesalers and foodservice operations are seeking suppliers to provide product 12 months out of the year.
Orange County Produce will continue to grow and market vegetables and green beans under its own label.
by Grant J. Hunt Company
OAKLAND, CA – Grant J. Hunt Company, an Oakland, California-based produce distribution firm, has announced that Grant J. “Jim” Hunt, Jr. has died at the age of 94.
Mr. Hunt graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 1943.
Mr. Hunt joined Grant J. Hunt Company in 1946 after his rehabilitation from wounds received in battle during World War II in France during the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Hunt took the helm of the company in 1949 after the sudden death of the company founder, Grant J. Hunt, Sr. where he served as company President for decades until his retirement in 1992.
Mr. Hunt spent many hours outside of his career pursuing volunteer work; particularly in areas working with youth. He served as Scoutmaster for many years with the Boy Scouts of America followed service on the Board of Directors of Piedmont Council. Mr. Hunt was awarded the Silver Beaver award from the Boy Scouts for positively impacting the lives of youths that he led.
Mr. Hunt served on many Board positions of the Produce Marketing Association including leading the association as President in 1981. His model of service to PMA carried through to his son Grant M. Hunt, who served as PMA Chair in 1999. To date, they are the only father-son duo to ever serve in the Board President/Chair capacity. Under Jim Hunt’s leadership, PMA’s three divisions (retail, foodservice and floral) developed policies to enhance the growth of the industry; particularly meant to attract youth to the produce industry which was his passion.
“Jim Hunt had already completed his term as Chairman of the PMA Board when I joined the association in 1983. Nonetheless, he took the time to school me in the workings of our industry and the lessons he had learned throughout his career. Jim’s unselfish service to the industry he loved is one reason I was so pleased to visit him just weeks ago at his home, where he reminisced so lucidly on shared experiences. Like his son Grant, another PMA Chairman of the Board, Jim understood so well the mutual benefit that flows from leadership service to others across an industry” stated Bryan Silbermann, Retired PMA CEO.
Mr. Hunt was the recipient of The Packer’s Produce Man of the Year Award in 1978 in recognition of his efforts with other Bay Area leaders to eradicate corruption involving the unloading of produce trucks at wholesale markets in Northern California.
Mr. Hunt was very active with St. Helena Catholic Church serving on the Parish Council and the School Board. He also volunteered with many of the youth activities continuing his passion for developing youth talents.
A Mass of Christian Burial is planned for April 5 at St. Helena Catholic Church in St. Helena, CA.
(Editor’s Note: We all have mentors in life. Jim Hunt was my mentor. For those of you who subscribe to Haulproduce.com and find its information helpful in your business, you can thank in part Mr. Jim Hunt. I was a young editor for a produce publication called The Packer during the ’70s. I wrote a 3-part series on the horrendous treatment of truckers delivering produce to the produce market in South San Francisco. Teamster unloaders (also called swampers in those days) were fleecing, threatening drivers and delaying unloading of their trucks when they refused to pay kick backs, and extracting exorbitant unload fees.
Jim Hunt would offer to go on the market as I did my investigative reporting to make sure no harm would come to me. I would call him at home from my hotel room at night with all kinds of questions. He was a wholesaler in Oakland, just across the San Francisco Bay and did business with wholesalers in South San Francisco. Yet, he was not concerned with the loss of business for helping this young reporter and helping expose the corruption. His first concern was how produce truckers were being mistreated. We all need heroes and mentors – Jim Hunt was mine. — Bill Martin)
by Doug Ohlemeier, PerishableNews.com
Growers are assessing damage from a mid-March freeze which could prevent South Carolina growers from commercially packing peaches this summer. During the overnight hours of March 15, temperatures sunk to 20 degrees and destroyed as much as 90 percent of the state’s peach crop.
Titan Farms, headquartered in Ridge Spring, SC, doesn’t plan to run its commercial packing line. Up to 90 percent of its peaches were damaged. Daryl Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing, reports the grower-shipper may have lost all its crop.
Because of a mild winter, a majority of Titan Farms’ varieties and groves were already in bloom. The buds couldn’t handle the record low temperatures. Before the freeze, Titan Farms was optimistic it would experience a favorable crop and begin packing by May 1, about three weeks earlier than normal, says Johnson.
“What is ironic is if the freezes hadn’t happened for both Georgia and South Carolina, we would probably have had South Carolina peaches in the marketplace before Georgia,” explains Johnson. “Our main goal is to assess the situation, work with our employees and go into a more conservative mode. We are taking care of our people and letting every one of our partners know what happened, because they have to adjust accordingly to what they need to do without our peaches.”
Johnson says he’s hearing Georgia growers lost up to half of their peaches. Georgia typically begins harvesting in mid-May and finishes by late August while South Carolina, which is the largest East Coast fresh producing state, generally begins in late May and early June and harvests through early September.
Martin Eubanks, assistant commissioner of agriculture for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture in Columbia, says he’s hearing about similar losses and estimates damage at 85 percent -95 percent. The freeze destroyed the front end of the crop as well as the later season varieties. The drop in the thermometer was among the lowest the state has seen this time of year in history. “At this point in time, it is still to be determined if we will have a packinghouse that opens and actually runs a commercial peach this season,” says Eubanks. “We will have peaches in July and August, but there will not be an overabundance.”
Eubanks estimates growers should take three to four weeks before they know how much fruit they can ship. Titan Farms, which normally ships 2.2 million 25-pound cartons a year, plans to sell field-run fruit locally, says Johnson. The company markets itself as the second largest U.S. peach grower-shipper.