RPA’s RFID/RPC Study: Pathway To More Comprehensive Traceability?
We remember when RFID was all the rage and the expectation was that between Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense pushing the technology, the whole industry would be rapidly transitioned to the radio frequency future. It didn’t quite work out, and all we can say is we wish we had a tiny portion of the […]
In Converting Onion Waste To Electricity, Gills Sets Example Of Sustainable Leadership
The Pundit had the great pleasure recently of flying out to Oxnard, California, to be part of the festivities surrounding the launch of a new Advanced Energy Recovery System at Gills Onions. At least that was the nominal purpose of the event. In reality it was a celebration of sustainability done right and, indeed, a […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Got Produce? Objection To Mandatory Component
Our coverage of the proposal for a Generic Produce Promotion Board has been extensive, and much has been in the form of a critique of the proposal and how it has been presented to the industry. We don’t believe the support is there right now to pass such a program but many people, such as […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Clarification
Of Sprout Outbreaks
We’ve been writing a great deal about sprouts. As an area of the industry plagued by food safety outbreaks, we thought it important to understand and seek solutions to the problems seemingly endemic to these products. In addition, as the sprout industry has been wrestling with food safety issues longer than most of the fresh […]
‘Eat Seasonably’ Campaign Another Example Of Misguided Intentions
We’ve written plenty about the locally grown movement and about sustainability, so when we heard that a battle was brewing in Britain between advocates of eating seasonably and the fruit and vegetable industry, we wanted to learn more. After all, isn’t all produce seasonal somewhere? Besides, our great-grandparents ate seasonably — mostly root vegetables all […]
Got Produce? Ten Steps To Creating
New Dialog On Generic Promotion
After months of studying not only the proposal for a generic marketing board for fresh produce but also the mechanics of how the “dialog” is being conducted by the advocates of the board, we realize the key problem: The advocates rushed into “dialog” when what the industry really needed was debate. There is no question […]
Assortment Rationalization
And Private Label Margin
Recently The Wall Street Journal ran two pieces that, taken together, constitute a one-two punch against the way food retailing has been conducted for 20 years. The first piece, Retailers Cut Back on Variety, Once the Spice of Marketing, puts it this way: For years, supermarkets, drugstores and discount retailers packed their shelves with an […]
In Defense Of
Cosmetically Challenged Produce
Back in November Sainsbury’s, the UK supermarket chain, pulled its planned line of “Halloween produce,” because EU standards prevented the sale of such items to consumers and launched a campaign to change the regulations: SAINSBURY’S LOBBIES AGAINST ‘BONKERS’ EU FRUIT AND VEGETABLE REGULATIONS • Sainsbury’s pulls new veg range from sale as managers are threatened […]
How To Prepare For
An FDA Inspection And Recall
We have written much about food safety, including coverage of the spinach crisis of 2006, the “Import Alert” on certain Honduran Cantaloupes, a botulism outbreak tied to consumer mishandling of some carrot juice, the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak — thought initially to be related to tomatoes and then, seemingly to certain chili peppers — and, more […]
Nolans Awarded Bonus
Damages In Ocean Spray Case
Our extensive coverage of the dispute between Jim Nolan, Theresa Nolan and their company, The Nolan Network, with Ocean Spray has now reached a new point. As we explained here, a jury had awarded the Nolans damages of one million dollars. Now, Judge Robert C. Rufo has determined that the judgment should be doubled to […]
