HOOD RIVER, OR - UNITEC recently teamed up with Diamond Fruit Growers to help the grower’s handling season be as smooth as possible. After implementing UNITEC’s technology in July of 2018, the Diamond Fruit Growers’ team has reported how much life the tech provider’s 18-lane line—equipped with Pears Sort 3 technology—brought to the grower’s final product coming out of the Hood River Valley, including high levels of qualitative homogeneity and quality consistency across the board.

“We have received many comments about the line and all have been positive. Other packing houses have come to tour the line and have expressed how efficient and smoothly it runs,” said David Garcia, President of the Oregon Packing House. “Retailers that have received our product have commented on our fruit quality and how very consistent it is. We have had several top retailers stop at our plant just to tour the line and have been very impressed with the operation.”

Around the same time that Diamond Fruit Growers decided to implement UNITEC’s technology, distrust toward pre-sorting lines was growing within the U.S. fruit and veg sector. According to a press release, U.S. Packing Houses handling pears have always preferred direct packaging lines, in the belief that pre-sorting lines lacked delicacy and therefore could damage the pears—but the choice of Diamond Fruit Growers to rely on UNITEC for a pre-sorting line for pears, and the surprising results it obtained, represented a real watershed compared to the past.

“A pear that starts with no skin damage when its run on the UNITEC line will end up with no markings after being ran across the line. This is what we were hoping for when we approached UNITEC about designing this line and they truly succeeded in building a line that will not mark up the pears,” Garcia continued.

The results Diamond Fruit Growers has obtained ultimately piqued the interest of other companies, including retailers and distributors. According to a UNITEC press release, all who came and feasted their eyes on the 18-lane line were in agreement that there was a noticeable difference in the levels of qualitative homogeneity and quality consistency. In fact, many reported that they have seen consumers and shoppers increase their purchase of Diamond Fruit Growers’ pears after the grower implemented the new technology.

The press release also noted that the UNITEC 18-lane line is one of the first pear handling lines in the United States that has brought a real turnaround, leading more packers to lean into pear handling lines. One of the distinctive features of the line is its gentle handling of pears. Another feature of note is the reliability of its quality selection, only made possible by the Pears Sort 3 system and its high resolution cameras, which was designed by Unisorting, a division of the UNITEC group. The cameras scan 360 degrees of each pear.

“We noticed, especially in our number one grade, that the end product was very consistent,” Garcia continued.

This technology has also helped Diamond Fruit Growers streamline its operations by making it possible to divide fruit into product classes characterized by an extremely high Coherent Quality, with each class having its own territorial or consumption destination.

“Our ability to process more bins in an hour increased,” Garcia added, noting an almost 100 percent increase in production efficiency and a significant reduction in labor costs. “Prior with two lines we were able to run 70-75 bins per hour. With the new line we ran 100- 140 bins per hour Prior years we had up to 75 employees per shift sorting. New line we had 12-15 sorters per shift.”

When Diamond Fruit Growers first proposed readapting its pre-existing pear line, UNITEC instantly took on the responsibility of designing and manufactguring a line dedicated exclusively to pears—making it one of the first in the world of its kind.

“When we first started looking at replacing our old lines, there were apple lines out there that were modified to run pears but they weren’t going to take us where we felt we needed to be for the future,” Garcia said. “That is where UNITEC came into play. UNITEC was able to show us through their designs and vision what a true pear line would look like. As we got further into working with UNITEC. we knew that this was the line to take us into the future.”

Garcia continued: “Another indication that we had made the right decision was at the end of the season everyone was looking forward to the next season with the new line because we think we have just begun to touch on how well this line can run pears!”

UNITEC’s partnership with Diamond Fruit Growers also expands its presence in the United States market—adding to its presence in Lodi, California, and Wenatchee, Washington.

For more fresh produce news like this, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

UNITEC Diamond Fruit Growers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The art, the museums, farmers markets, and trolley carts always come to my mind when I think of San Francisco. Now, I think of Mollie Stone’s Markets, too. Recently, Mollie Stone’s announced that it will open up its 10th location in a former Lombardi Sports store in 2020, taking over the 43,900-square-foot site that has been vacant since 2014.

“The new location will be our fourth in San Francisco, and we are extremely excited to expand in the city by the bay,” Owner Mike Stone said in a news release. “We understand the passion and expectation in the neighborhood, and look forward to providing an outstanding place to shop.

Since 1986, Mollie Stone’s has been a purveyor in the Bay Area of local, natural, and gourmet products. With locations already in San Francisco’s Castro, Twin Peaks, and Pacific Heights neighborhoods as well as in Greenbrae, San Mateo, Sausalito, Palo Alto, Burlingame, and San Bruno, Mollie Stone’s is still not considered as a chain store.

“We’re a small player in a big ocean,” said Stone of the difference between his store and Whole Foods. “We’re community-minded and we service the local needs of the community. When you focus on that as opposed to global growth and numbers of stores, that makes a big difference.”

With headquarters in Mill Valley, Mollie Stone’s began its expansion into San Francisco in 1998 with its Pacific Heights location, where it still provides a shuttle bus for shoppers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Following the lead of national supermarkets, the chain started offering grocery delivery in the city through Instacart in 2015.

For more retail news, keep reading ANUK.

Mollie Stone's Markets

MIAMI, FL - There are times when I’m walking through my grocery store and I see the avocado display, the prices that have now inflated, and sigh in dismay at the size before me, because I now have been introduced to something far greater. I’m talking about the long neck avocado. Miami Fruit shared a picture of its meter-long omega-rich fruit and the world over literally fell in love—just not with its price tag.

The organic and GMO-free variety garnered attention for the long neck uniquely known to this seedling variety. Predictably, the price tag—each 3-6 lb box costs $47—shocked me just as much as the avocado did itself. However, Miami Fruit stated that this seedling is not grown commercially and was originally native to Nicaragua, according to mitú.

To learn more about this behemoth of an avocado, visit Miami Fruit’s Instagram. For more exciting news in the produce world, keep reading ANUK.

Miami Fruit

HOUSTON, TX - A few of our industry's charity queens, Lisa Helfman and Dr. Shreela Sharma, are joining the likes of real-life royalty! Recently, Business Insider published its Food 100, a ranking of the 100 coolest people in food and drink, and included Helfman, Sharma, and the Duchess of Sussex herself: Meghan Markle—all on the same leadership list!

“We are humbled to be joining this impressive group of innovators in the food industry,” said Helfman, Brighter Bites’ Co-Founder. “For Business Insider to include us among these leaders demonstrates that our evidence-based nutrition education and health promotion program is gaining traction...and living a healthier life through fresh food is really the coolest way to live.”

Helfman and Sharma, the co-founders of Brighter Bites, ranked #60 and #61 on the list, a great accomplishment for their produce careers and the nonprofit organization that is making waves beyond just the produce industry.

Other notable figures who ranked on Business Insider’s inaugural Food 100 list were Markle (#32), Charles, Prince of Wales (#63), George Clooney (#9), and award-winning restauranteurs Clare Smyth (#3) and Asma Khan (#1).

If you haven't yet familiarized yourself with all that Brighter Bites is doing for the next generation of produce consumers, I highly recommend doing so and fast—there's no stopping this growing organization from completely evolving health, eating, and shopping behaviors and you (yeah, YOU growers, packers, shippers, and suppliers!) won't want to miss out on this next wave!

Congratulations to Lisa Helfman and Dr. Shreela Sharma for this fantastic accomplishment! For more produce industry wins, stick right here with AndNowUKnow.

Brighter Bites

FRESNO, CA - A recycle symbol is grand, but is it clear? The industry is taking further steps to ensure that consumers understand the sustainability measures being taken and how they can complete the cycle. Trinity Fruit Company’s Director of Marketing, Angela Hernandez, and I took a moment to discuss the company’s moves in this important initiative.

“Trinity Fruit Company is committed to utilizing eco-friendly packaging for each of our commodities. It is our mission to grow, pack, and ship our quality products in the most environmentally responsible fashion,” Angela shares. “We want to help create a better tomorrow one piece of fruit at a time!”

The latest steps Trinity Fruit Company has taken to achieve this took place in June, when it became a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and became a member of the How2Recycle® label program.

With recyclability at the forefront of consumers’ minds when they see packaging, clarity is key. This program, Angela tells me, offers a custom label on Trinity Fruit’s packaging that tells the consumer how to recycle a package. The label is based in the U.S. and Canada and is the only nationally harmonized label that follows the Federal Trade Commission Green Guides, according to the company.

“This will educate our consumers on how to recycle our products and empower our customers to focus less on deciphering recyclability and more on enjoying our delicious fruit. This will also help reduce contamination in the recycling stream,” she says.

And there is more in the works, as well. The team has begun to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging of its products while also evaluating alternatives for single-use plastics.

The temptation of increased ring at the register is a plus for the system rather than a main motivation. As a grower, Trinity Fruit sees such moves as its duty.

“It is our responsibility at Trinity Fruit Company to create a better tomorrow by constantly evaluating all of our products and processes. We are always questioning ourselves and analyzing what we are doing today and why. From the fields and packing facilities to store shelves and everything in between, we are dedicated to improving methods to be ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible. Making improvements in farming practices and eco-friendly packaging today will have a positive impact on our environment in the long run,” Angela shares.

As Trinity Fruit and the rest of our industry continues to make strides in sustainability, AndNowUKnow will continue to connect you to the latest.

Trinity Fruit Company

MONTEREY, CA - Is there anything that makes me happier than a Brussels sprout? I’ve yet to find it! With more and more consumers jumping onto the happiness-equals-Brussels-sprouts train, it’s no wonder that companies like Gold Coast Packing are upping their foodservice capabilities to include all manner of Brussels sprouts formats. I spoke with Crystal Chavez, Marketing Coordinator, to learn a bit more about this development.

“We’re predominantly a foodservice company and our core items are broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and cilantro, but what we’re highlighting is our Brussels sprouts,” she shared with me. “It’s a trending vegetable; everyone’s using Brussels sprouts as more of a center-of-plate item, and we’ve got them for you!”

Recently, the company launched its halved and whole Brussels sprouts alongside its shredded offering. Available in a 4 x 5 lb and 2 x 5 lb pack size, these three options are ideal for any foodservice operator.

“The sizing from our Brussels sprouts came from our customers—what they wanted for their back-of-house, or what they needed for themselves and their customers, too,” Crystal said. “We went out to our customers and asked ‘How do you want this? We’re here to work with you.’ And those were the two sizes that pretty much everyone asked for.”

Proving that its customer service is just as valuable as its produce! See the exclusive interview above for more details.

Gold Coast Packing

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that La Central Produce LLC satisfied a $10,496 reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) involving unpaid produce transaction(s).

Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:

The Forest Park, Georgia, company can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a PACA license. Jose J. Morales was listed as a member 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. USDA will only reinstate the license of a business to an active status if all reparation awards are satisfied and if the license is not terminated.

The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,350 PACA claims involving more than $63 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $156 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

For further information, contacts, and to read the press release in its entirety, please check out the link here.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service

COACHELLA, CA - When it’s show season, you know there are going to be a few companies throwing curve balls at us trade news writers. At PMA Foodservice 2019, Prime Time International was one of those companies reminding us that the team is more than just a few staple categories as the company continues to expand into a new segment to wow the buying crowd. Long story short, we were impressed and pleasantly surprised as always.

We tapped Mike Way, Managing Partner, to give us the low-down on a few of Prime Time International’s new items.

“New to our venue is asparagus,” Mike revealed to me. “We’re going to have asparagus 365 days a year.”

Another new item Mike shared with me was its mini pepper program, which was less shocking of an announcement considering Prime Time’s status as one of our industry’s pepper powerhouses.

“We’re the largest pepper grower in North America. We have peppers 365 days a year: red, yellow, green peppers, and now mini peppers,” Mike continued. “So we have the red, yellow, and green peppers, mini peppers, and asparagus—that’s Prime Time.”

To hear more from Mike himself on a few of Prime Time’s new programs, watch our exclusive video interview above.

Prime Time International

ZAANDAM, NETHERLANDS - The 11-day strike impacting Stop & Shop, one of Ahold Delhaize’s retail banners, may have ended, but the repercussions are still being felt. The retailer recently reported slowed growth in both its brick-and-mortar and digital space, and though sales were still positive, the company took an undeniable hit.

"Although our results were impacted by the strike at Stop & Shop, our other U.S. brands continued their strong performance,” commented Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize. "As we continue to see sales performance improve at Stop & Shop, we expect no significant impact from the strike in the second half of the year.”

According to The Hartford Courant, the economic impact of the initial work stoppage was $224 million, and $121 million during the “recovery period,” for a total of $345 million in losses. The company’s online sales also took a hit, because though sales for that sector were up 14.4 percent (to $249 million), pre-strike projections had placed online sales growth at 18 percent.

Ahold Delhaize released a financial report detailing its current economic position and the fallout from the strike. Some of the details include:

• Net sales of €16.3 billion ($18.2 USD), up 1.5% at constant exchange rates, impacted by the strike
• Net consumer online sales up 29.2% at constant exchange rates
• Underlying operating margin of 3.6%, including strike impact
• U.S. comparable sales growth excl. gasoline +2.3% adjusted for Easter and strike impact

For the full report, click here.

Will this slowdown in Ahold’s growth become a trend? Or is it just a bump in the road? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.

Ahold Delhaize

NOGALES, AZ - Pound for pound, the commentary, research, and debate around the Tomato Suspension Agreement Proposal is one of the most dynamic conversations I have witnessed since I started in the industry a mere eight years ago. One of the voices in constant and passionate engagement around the debate comes from the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas/Tomato Division (FPAA/TD).

Recently, the FPAA/TD shared its evolving view on the issue noting that the Tomato Suspension Agreement proposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in July carries “flawed provisions that infringe upon federal laws and are unlikely to survive antitrust and other legal actions that are sure to arise.” The Mexican growers’ proposal from August 5, as shared by the association, identifies a path forward that greatly reduces FPAA’s antitrust concerns.

“We have made two trips to Washington to meet with the Department of Commerce to explain how the Commerce proposal gives unfair advantage to one type of U.S. seller of Mexican tomatoes over other U.S. sellers of Mexican tomatoes, yet the unjustifiable provisions remain,” FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer, stated. “The Commerce proposal would allow repackers to profiteer on the condition of Mexican tomatoes at destination. By contrast, the new Mexican proposal provides a clear path to remove defective tomatoes from the marketplace. This is a step in the right direction.”

To read the Mexican growers’ proposal from August 5, please click here!

The FPAA added that written comments have been submitted and in a recent meeting with Commerce, FPAA has stated that it believes Commerce is going beyond its statutory authority, particularly with sales price adjustments for defective tomatoes. The example given by the FPAA noted that “Commerce’s proposal tramples on the rights of U.S. buyers and sellers of Mexican tomatoes to claim damages for breach of contract, which are protected under U.S. law, including the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).”

Jungmeyer went on to share more background that informs the FPAA's position.

“When Congress passed PACA in 1937 and gave USDA jurisdiction to protect the rights of sellers and buyers of perishable agricultural commodities, it never imagined that another government agency like Commerce would decide that some American companies would get protections, while others would not,” Jungmeyer reflected, adding that this would be outside the scope of dumping law.

In addition, the FPAA firmly believes a new suspension agreement must remove the mandate for USDA to inspect every imported lot of Mexican tomatoes—an action that the Mexican government has said would invite reciprocal inspections on U.S. agricultural products. In the FPAA’s eyes, inspections of Mexican tomatoes would accomplish nothing because USDA records show that 99 percent of tomatoes meet standards upon arrival at customers’ warehouses and destinations.

The complex issues around the Tomato Suspension Agreement continue to be top-of-mind and at the center of conversations on multiple fronts. Keep checking back with AndNowUKnow as we continue to take the temperature from both sides of the aisle.

Fresh Produce Association of the Americas