WASHINGTON, D.C. – Under PACA regulations, Michael Cutler of California Inc., operating in Los Angeles, California, has posted a $90,000 surety bond.

The bond has been required to employ Julisa Nievas-Barajas, who was previously named in a PACA action.

According to a press release, Julisa Nievas-Barajas was an Officer of Delta Fresh Fruit Inc., from Vernon, California.  That company was found to have committed repeated and flagrant violations of Section 2 of the PACA.

As part of the regulations, any PACA licensee that wishes to employ individuals who have failed to pay a reparations award or have been subject to a USDA disciplinary action, must post a USDA-approved surety bond. 

The $90,000 bond will be held by the USDA for four years to provide assurance to the industry that the company will pay for produce that it purchases.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 4,600 claims filed under PACA involving more than $87 million. This is just one more way USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

Agricultural Marketing Service

IRWINDALE, CA – Ready Pac Foods, Inc. has launched a new line of complete salad kits in time to bring friends and families together for the holidays: Cranberry Pomegranate Complete Salad Kit, Autumn Harvest Complete Salad Kit and Thai Complete Salad Kit.

“It’s amazing what a shared meal can do to bring us closer together,” says Tristan Simpson, Chief Communications Officer, Ready Pac Foods. “A good meal can open up our hearts, stimulate conversation and remind us how important it is to reconnect with our family and friends. I love the idea that our Ready Pac Complete Salad solutions are helping to do that for families across the country.”

According to a press release, Ready Pac’s new Autumn Harvest Complete Salad Kit features baby kale and spring mix with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and radicchio. To achieve a fall flavor, it also has crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds, sweet figs and raisons, spiced cornbread croutons and creamy citrus and brown sugar dressing.

The new Cranberry Pomegranate Complete Salad Kit features a fresh blend of arugula, baby greens and radicchio, feta cheese, sweet cranberries, honey roasted almonds and a tangy sweet pomegranate cranberry vinaigrette. The company designed this balanced holiday flavor to cater to all tastes.

Taking a step away from traditional holiday flavors, Ready Pac’s new Thai Complete Salad Kit features a blend of green leaf lettuce and spicy peanut lime cilantro dressing that pairs with crispy wonton strips and peanuts.

The company adds that these kits are easy enough for kids to prepare to help encourage everyone to be involved in preparing meals together.

Ready Pac

BERKELEY, CA - A new species of mushroom has been discovered on the UC Berkeley campus – the first in 30 years.

Else Vellinga, a campus researcher, and Nhu Nguyen, a postdoctoral associate at UC Berkeley, describe Helvella dryophila as a beautiful black “elfin saddle” associated with oaks on Observatory Hill, an open space area next to the C.V. Starr East Asian Library.

“So far only 11 other species have been described from campus,” said Nguyen. “The last time this happened was in 1985.”

According to the researchers, the new species is edible if cooked properly, but to my dismay, apparently doesn’t taste very good. Details on the finding were discussed in a paper published in the journal Mycologia.

What makes this discovery so exciting, Vellinga suggests, is that new species of mushrooms can be found right on the campus itself as opposed to more exotic locales. DNA sequence analysis and more precise identification indicated that the species found on the campus is entirely different than European elfin saddles.

“Once we figured out that the California elfin saddles were completely different from the European elfin saddles, we focused on the group and described two new species from California,” said Nguyen, referring to the other new species described in the research paper – Helvella vespertina.

“What was happening is that these mushrooms were parading around under another species’ names,” said Vellinga. “We can still find mushroom species that are new to science, right here on campus.”

The discovery emphasizes the need to create a definitive catalog of North American mushrooms, according to campus researchers. New research methods such as DNA sequence analysis can significantly assist in compiling an updated database. Both Vellinga and Nguyen’s research is part of the North American Mycoflora Project, which hopes to register all known mushrooms in the continent in a comprehensive guide.  

“We’re desperately trying to catalog life on earth, and fungi are a huge part of that,” said Nguyen. “Biological diversity is important to the future of the planet, especially in the face of changes in climate, invasive species, and other threats. The richness that we have on the planet is important to identify and maintain, and knowing what exists now and has existed in the past gives scientists information to stabilize ecosystems.”  

The curiosity Vellinga and Nguyen possess for discovery is one I have found often through my work with the produce industry. Perhaps UC Berkeley’s next discovery could work its way into produce aisles across the continent. Who can say for sure, but it will certainly be a fascinating headline to wait for.

UC Berkeley Plant & Microbial Biology

BENTONVILLE, AR - With a new year rapidly approaching, Doug McMillon is nearing the close of his first year as President and CEO of Wal-Mart. With this in mind, the question begs asking: how well has he preformed? While still early, the answers to this question so far are quite positive, with McMillon leading Wal-Mart to impressive financial gains through the pursuit of exciting new retail strategies, like the company's Neighborhood Market store concept.

When it was first announced that Doug McMillon would be succeeding Mike Duke as President and CEO of Wal-Mart on February 1st, 2014,  Rob Walton, Chairman of Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors, said, “Doug is uniquely positioned to lead our growing global company and to serve the changing customer, while remaining true to our culture and values.”

“He has broad experience – with successful senior leadership roles in all of Wal-Mart’s business segments – and a deep understanding of the economic, social and technological trends shaping our world,” Walton continued. “A merchant at heart, Doug has both a long history with our company and a keen sense of where our customers globally are heading next. He has also shown strong leadership on environmental sustainability and a commitment to using Walmart’s size and scale to make a difference in the lives of people, wherever they might be.”

When McMillon took office, Wal-Mart's stock opened at $73.92/share. Since then it has surged to $85.00/share (as of 9:50am PST, December 3rd, 2014), a robust 14.989% increase. More recently, McMillon helped the retailer break its streak of 6 straight quarters without growth with a strong Q3 2014 financial report that saw membership and other income increase 13.9% from the previous year and total revenue climb to $199.0 billion.

"The highlights for the quarter include the positive comp in Wal-Mart U.S., including the strong performance from Neighborhood Markets, the 21 percent increase in e-commerce sales globally and the profit performances from Sam's Club and our International business," McMillon then shared.

McMillon's mention of Wal-Mart's Neighborhood Market stores was appropriate given the role the smaller format stores have played in the retailer's success. According to the Q3 financial report, Wal-Mart's Neighborhood Market stores enjoyed a 5.5% increase in comp sales and a 3.4% increase in net sales to $70.0 billion.

Realizing the importance these stores would play in Wal-Mart's future, McMillon focused on them early on during his tenure as CEO. When he took over, Wal-Mart only operated 346 of these stores, according to a press release. Today that number is 474. Additionally, Wal-Mart has plans to build 240 new smaller format stores, such as Neighborhood Market, in fiscal 2015 with another 200-220 will follow in 2016. 

Going forward, McMillon says he is focused on the power of e-commerce to give his company an edge in the retail game, according to a recent interview with CNBC.

“Mobile is a driving force in the countries that we operate in today,” McMillon said.

To view McMillon's comments in full, you can check them out in the video below:

It will be fascinating to see what direction McMillon and Wal-Mart move in going forward. No matter what happens, however, you can count on AndNowUKnow to bring you the news when it breaks.  

Wal-Mart

IMMOKALEE, FL - Lipman has agreed to acquire Legend Distributing, a repacking and fruit and vegetable supplier in Phoenix, AZ. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Legend Distributing team to Lipman,” said Lipman CEO Kent Shoemaker. “Their experience in our industry and presence in the Southwestern states make them a perfect fit.”

The Phoenix market, along with the Southwestern part of the country, remains a strategic focus for Lipman as the company continues to grow and expand its geographic footprint. Legend Distributing brings unique varieties of fresh produce that will now be offered to Lipman customers, according to a press release. The Legend Distributing website states that the company works directly with growers including Legend Produce and Legacy Farms.

Legend Distributing’s Barry Zwillinger, President, and Ric Crespo, General Manager, will remain with the company and maintain their leadership roles.

“We are all excited to join the Lipman family of companies,” said Zwillinger. “We know that being part of a farming company will give our customers what they demand – dependable access to fresh tomatoes and vegetables 24/7/365.”

Shoemaker continued, “Their values are in line with ours. The Legend Distributing team is creative, experience, and committed to providing customers with fresh, safe, great tasting produce.”

Congratulations on this successful acquisition, Lipman!

Lipman

Legend Distributing

ORLANDO, FL – Darden Restaurants is gaining momentum after the announcement of a number of strategic actions to save approximately $20 million per year through the reduction of general and administrative expenses.

Nasdaq.com is reporting that Darden's shares hit a new 52-week high of $57.95 in the first half of the trading session on December 1, citing the company's recent cost saving initiatives. 

As we previously reported, the actions include a corporate restructuring that will affect nearly 60 employees and cut 25 open positions, the elimination of a layer of field operations management at Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse and the removal of the company’s aviation department.

“While these changes will significantly improve how we operate, it is always difficult to take actions that have an impact on the dedicated individuals who have made significant contributions to our company,” said Gene Lee, Darden’s Interim CEO.  “Departing employees will receive severance and other benefits appropriate to their position and tenure that are consistent with our values.  We thank them for their contributions to Darden.”

The company expects these moves to result in savings of approximately $20 million per year.  Darden also adds that these moves will help to increase the focus on restaurant operations and improve the guest experience to help position the company to “win the battle for market share across all of its concepts.”

It will be interesting to see if this momentum will continue into Darden’s upcoming second quarter earnings call this month.  Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest.

Darden Restaurants

SELMA, CA - In celebration of its 10th year in the industry, Pandol Associates Marketing has announced that the company will be rebranding itself as Jim Pandol & Co. In a memo to industry members, the company shared its view that the new name and brand was fitting given its multitude of acomplishments over the previous 10 years and its vision for growth going forward.

“This new name reflects all that we have accomplished over these last ten years, growing and blossoming far beyond our original mission statement, and looking forward down the road at where we are headed as an international company and organization,” read the memo. “As we celebrate Thanksgiving and approach Christmas and the New Year, we give thanks to all of you who have supported us and helped us arrive at where we are today. With your continued support, and God's blessing, we look forward to continued prosperity, growth and development with you all.”

The company stresses that even though its name will be different, its staff, physical address, email addresses, website and phone numbers will remain unchanged.

According to the company's website, Jim Pandol & Co. is a leading grower, shipper and distributor of fresh produce - domestic, imported, and exported with experience in table grapes stretching back to the 1930s.

Congratulations on hitting such an impressive company milestone, Jim Pandol & Co.!

Jim Pandol & Co.

ANAHEIM, CA - Roman Forowycz, Chief Marketing Officer for Clear Lam Packaging, shared his company's latest innovations at PMA Fresh Summit 2014. An Impact Award Finalist, Clear Lam's Snap Apart Fruit and Veggie Cups give consumer's new options when wanting to take the sweet taste of fresh apples on the go.

PrimaPak™ technology offers a new alternative to preformed rigid containers. Positioning itself as the first stackable, flexible, reclosable package on the market, PrimaPak™ retains the best attributes of preformed rigid containers while offering retailers new options.

Clear Lam also highlights its use of modified atmosphere packaging for most of the products launched at PMA Fresh Summit in order to extend their shelf life.

For this and more, make sure to check out the video at the top of this page!

Clear Lam Packaging

MISSISSAUGA, ON - Freshline Foods is introducing a new line of fresh cut apple slices: new Flavoured Apple Slices. Marketed towards both adults and children, the company is excited about this product's ability to grow the category by introducing a fun twist to a consumer staple.

“Working with Food Freshly North America and Bamford Family Farms/Bay Growers (sister companies to Freshline Foods), we have developed a new process of flavouring apple slices that maintains the apples’ texture and visual appeal, utilizes all natural flavourings and allows the product to exhibit an extended shelf life,” said Noel Brigido, Vice President of Freshline Foods. “The end result is our Flavoured Apple Slices that are infused with natural flavours of peach and grapes and are crisp and crunchy with a natural feel and no sugary or sticky coatings. We are proud of the powerful flavour combinations we’ve been able to achieve with our flavoured apple products and we are thrilled to bring these new items to our customers.”

Peach and grape will be the first two flavors to be introduced under the Flavoured Apple Slices line, according to a press release. Freshline Foods shares that the slices will be offered in a user-friendly 400g package and snack size 55g pouches. They are currently set to be released in North America beginning in January 2015.

Great work on this new product line, Freshline Foods!

Freshline Foods

OAK BROOK, IL – Flipping through channels while eating breakfast this morning, a bright flash of color and a familiar logo caught my eye. I was pleasantly surprised to find none other than Sun Pacific Cuties featured as the star attraction alongside the Penguins of Madagascar in a new line of McDonald’s ads. After having had a successful test run throughout the year at select restaurants, the fast food giant is now advertising fresh Cuties in Happy Meals nationwide.

Check out the commercial here:

According to a press release, the kid-sized Sun Pacific Cuties will join McDonald’s lineup of Happy Meal and Mighty Kids Meal side choices.  They will be available during their peak season through March 2015.

“We know our customers and parents are looking for ways to enjoy more great-tasting and fun sides in our Happy Meals, the Cuties are the perfect fit,” said Greg Watson, Senior Vice President of Menu Innovation, McDonald’s.  “As part of our commitment to help families make more nutritious choices, we’ll continue to explore more fruit and low-fat dairy sides for our youngest customers.”

As we previously reported, McDonald’s has been testing Cuties in select stores since the beginning of this year.  The fast food giant is also testing smaller-sized “junior” bananas, which may be added as a future fresh offering depending on the results of the test.

“Our partnership with McDonald’s allows us to share our sweet, easy-to-peel Cuties with even more people across the nation,” said Victoria Nuevo-Celeste, Vice President of Marketing at Sun Pacific.  “We’re eager to increase access to wholesome foods kids love and make history with McDonald’s by providing whole fresh fruit.”

The addition of Cuties is in support of McDonald’s partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an organization that was founded by the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation to increase access to fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy.

“Increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables is critical to ensuring young people have the chance to live long, healthy lives,” said Victoria Brown, Vice President of Strategic Alliances, for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 60 percent of children do not eat enough fruit to meet daily recommendations. We are excited to see McDonald's find innovative ways to increase customers' access to fruit and vegetables -- as they continue to make progress in our work together to help families and children make healthier choices.”

McDonald's has also released other commercials featuring the Cuties.  Check one of them out here:

These Cuties are just the latest fresh offering from McDonald’s.  Since March 2012, the company has served more than 1.2 billion bags of apple slices.  It is always great to see companies working to increase the consumption of fresh produce among kids.

McDonald’s

Sun Pacific