Spudman

Follow United Fresh 2013 with Fresh Cut’s editor’s blog

Stay up to date with United Fresh as it happens, with the Fresh Cut Editor's Blog. Lee Dean, editorial director of Fresh Cut, will be on hand all week at United Fresh 2013 blogging from the show. Read about his experiences — and see a sampling of the products and services available from the exhibitors on the show floor. Read the blog here.

---

Apio launches Eat Smart Ginger Bok Choy salad kit

Apio is introducing its new Eat Smart Ginger Bok Choy vegetable salad kit. The salad is available in 12-ounce bags nationwide and will be sold starting in April. The salad contains six vegetables recognized for their nutritional value: sugar snap peas, carrots, Napa cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, and red cabbage. The vegetables are combined with roasted peanuts, included in a separate pack to add crunch and additional flavor, and a ginger dressing that brings out…  » Read more

---

Ready Pac releases fresh-cut salad guide

Ready Pac Foods has introduced its “Fresh Cut Salad Guide,” which contains varietal information about lettuce types used in salads and recipes for their use. The guide describes more than 20 different types of lettuce, identifying colors, flavors and textures that make each leaf unique. The guide gives advice on optimal lettuce pairings to complement desired recipes and meal occasions. “With so many different offerings in the produce department, the salad category can be overwhelming.”…  » Read more

---

Ready Pac plant earns SQF certification

Ready Pac Foods announced that its Swedesboro, N.J. fresh foods processing facility received SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 3 certification, the highest certification possible. This achievement means that all of Ready Pac’s processing facilities have satisfied the certification’s rigorous food safety and quality requirements. “Ready Pac implemented the stringent SQF certification program system-wide to develop standardized and harmonized quality systems that align with our customers’ food safety and quality needs,” said Tristan Simpson, director of…  » Read more

---

United Fresh: A Fresh-Cut for the Future

With the produce industry recovering from a spate of food safety issues this summer, United’s Fresh-Cut Processor Board has set an agenda that focuses on providing leadership on food safety challenges, as well as increasing produce consumption, sustainability and other industry initiatives. Chaired by Jan Berk, San Miguel Produce, and Vice Chairman Tony Freytag, Crunch Pak Sliced Apples, the Board’s 2012- 2013 agenda aims to address the unique needs of the fresh-cut processor market segment.…  » Read more

---

In advance of PMA Fresh Summit: Industry leaders offer insights to future

This year’s PMA Fresh Summit is titled “Say Hello to the Future.” Fresh Cut magazine asked people from around the industry about their predictions for the future when it comes to fresh-cut produce. David Linder, vice president and COO, Military Produce Group LLC, Norfolk, Va. “We see it growing. I think the consumer is finding value in precut even in these economic times. We’re glad to see it grow and we’re certainly looking to increase…  » Read more

---

‘Wall of Fresh’ is candy store of fresh-cut produce

A “Wall of Fresh” is proving to be a big draw for customers at the recently opened flagship Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The 85,000-square-foot mega store located in the former home of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team includes an approximately 8-foot, floor to ceiling wall of fresh-cut produce. It was the brainchild of Senior Director, National Concept — Produce Doug Rodriguez. “I came up with the idea for this from our…  » Read more

---

Quality Assurance Depends on Equipment, Systems

Welcome to the world of quality assurance (QA) in fresh-cut produce. Regulators mandate it, customers expect it and fresh-cut processors and shippers understand they have to find better ways to provide it. “If you found a blueberry in with the cranberries, it wasn’t a big deal,” said Bret Larreau, manager of business development for Key Technologies, remembering the days when “inspection” meant sorting produce by hand on a conveyor belt. “But any more, there’s just…  » Read more

---

A Fresh Start

The Tedesco family’s roots may be in farming, but they continue to blossom as processors of fresh-cut produce and related products. In 2008, the family sold Missa Bay, the Swedesboro, N.J.-based company they had purchased and built with a partner by cultivating the growing retail and quick-serve restaurant (QSR) market for modified- atmosphere packaged salads and fresh-cut fruits, along with fresh snack items for fast food giants including McDonald’s. But they didn’t just turn over…  » Read more

---

Back to School with Fresh Produce

Students are back in school, and DNO Produce is hard at work. The Columbus, Ohio-based produce distributor and fresh-cut processor has been building a niche in producing snack packs of fresh-cut vegetables and fruits. A family history President Tony DiNovo comes from a long line of people in the produce business. “My grandfather and his brothers started out in produce companies in these little county seats (around Ohio),” DiNovo said. “They had push carts and…  » Read more

---

Salad recall: Publix issues recall on hearts of romaine

Publix Supermarkets is issuing a voluntary recall for 10-oz. plastic bags of Publix Hearts of Romaine (Chopped Hearts of Romaine) due to the fact that they may be adulterated with Lysteria monocytogenes. Ready Pac is the private supplier of the private label product for the company. The UPC found on the back right hand corner of the package is 41415 03886. Publix recieved notification of the contamination from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after…  » Read more

---

Salad recall: Fresh Express recalls some bags of romaine

Fresh Express Incorporated is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of expired 18-oz. Hearts of Romaine salad with the use-by Date of Sept. 26, 2012 and Product Code H256808 as a precaution due to a possible health risk. The precautionary recall notification for the now-expired salad was issued after a sample of a single package of 18-oz. Hearts of Romaine salad yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes as part of the U.S. Food and Drug…  » Read more

---

Supermarkets team up to fight breast cancer

Pink Ribbon Produce's campaign against breast cancer returns to more than 500 Harris Teeter, Meijer and Price Chopper stores in October. The educational fundraising program partners the three grocery retailers with produce suppliers to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Stores will direct shoppers to the participating produce suppliers with a Pink Ribbon Produce icon on posters and point-of-sale signs at the product. In addition to buying selected products to support NBCF, customers…  » Read more

---

Del Monte Fresh launches avocado pulp four-pack

Del Monte Fresh Hass Avocado Pulp 2-oz. 4 Pack is now being sold at national retail chains. The ready-to-eat and preservative- and additive-free avocado product is designed for consumers on the go and sized to serve as a quick sandwich spread, go into a school lunchbox, or to be used as a single-serve dip. “Avocado and fresh guacamole products have seen incredible growth in the last few years and there is still room for development,”…  » Read more

---

Crunch Pak completes expansion in Cashmere, Wash.

Crunch Pak has completed a major expansion at its Cashmere, Wash., plant. The project expanded the company’s processing and loading facility space by 39,000 square feet, said company President and CEO John Graden.  Half of the additional space will be used for finished product storage and shipping, with the rest for processing. The new space will enable the company to handle approximately 1 million pounds of raw product per week. Also part of the expansion…  » Read more

---

New Product Roundup: What’s new from the fresh-cut industry

Check out what's new in products and solutions from around the fresh-cut produce industry. Here's the latest from Ready Pac, Triangle Packaging Machinery, Key Technology, 3M Food Safety, Turatti, Schober, CombiScale, Douglas Washing & Sanitizing Systems, ScoringAg, Eagle Packaging, FTNON, Crunch Pak, Zebra, Baumer and ThermoWorks.   Ready Pac offers Disney-themed meals Ready Pac has introduced new Disney-themed Mini Meals and Salads designed specifically for children ages 6-12. Salads come in pizza, taco, Caesar and…  » Read more

---