Georgia Nut Company (Not The One Implicated In The Peanut Recall)Points Finger At Setton Pistachio
Joshua RobbinsSpokesperson Georgia Nut CompanySkokie, Illinois Q: In its recall release, Georgia Nut Company said it identified the Salmonella as a result of “a rigorous sampling and testing regimen it conducted with respect to shelled pistachios provided by [Setton].” What is your testing protocol? Was this rigorous testing typical and part of a routine, continuous […]
Kraft At Crux Of Pistachio Recall;
Hasn’t Fully Audited Supplier
In Almost Four Years
Kraft occupies an odd position in this pistachio matter. It didn’t grow or process the pistachios; it didn’t even receive them or, initially, test them. Yet its policies on food safety and contacting government agencies have really been the catalyst for the whole matter. We asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to […]
Producer Contamination
Of Pistachios Is Rather Odd
The decision to close an industry is a serious one. We wanted to learn as much as we could about the pistachio situation and so asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to find out more. People were pretty closed-mouthed, but Mira was able to clarify some important points: Richard MatoianExecutive Director Western […]
Pistachio Industry Effectively Shuts Down Because Of FDA Recommendation Not To Consume
The FDA has recommended that consumers not consume pistachios or pistachio-containing products. It also encouraged a recall by Setton Pistachio of over a million pounds of product, and the company elected to close its plant. (In true fashion of press briefings given in moments of crisis, there is a great discrepancy of how much of […]
Word Of Gratitude
Just a few words to say THANK YOU to so many who sent a kind word in response to Ken Whitacre’s generous piece about our receipt of The Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity. A special thanks to Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of United Fresh Produce Association, who made a surprise trip to New […]
Perishable Thoughts — Why Teaching Is So Agonizing
We just finished a lap teaching — first at Cornell University, then Michigan State and, finally at UC Davis. Sometimes we were working with undergrads, sometimes grad students, occasionally faculty and sometimes executives from industry. So when Scott Danner, Chief Operating Officer of Liberty Fruit Co., Inc. and our most prolific contributor to Perishable Thoughts, […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Audit Disconnect
We have dealt lately with issues related to food safety auditing. In a piece about the AIB Audit of the Peanut Corporation of America, titled Lessons From The Peanut Salmonella Outbreak: Audit System Broken, we challenged the statement of the President of AIB telling Andrew Martin of The New York Times, “It would mean that […]
Protectionist Stance
Could Do Harm To Trade
Sometimes timing just doesn’t work out. One of the most serious problems facing the industry is an outbreak of protectionism that is threatening to block fresh produce exports. The US has never honored its NAFTA commitment to allow Mexican trucks and drivers to make cross-border deliveries to US destinations but, at least, the US had […]
Pundit’s Plan For Solving
The Banking Crisis
You may have caught on TV or on the Internet a spoof that ran on Saturday Night Live making fun of the government’s flailing around in an attempt to find an approach that would solve the banking crisis. The comedic clip portrays Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner unveiling a new plan to set aside […]
Perishable Thoughts –
Be Whatever You Resolve To Be
In an earlier piece we gave our March travel schedule, and it involves teaching either undergraduates, graduate students or executive development courses at Cornell, Michigan State and UC Davis. We always decline any compensation for teaching at colleges and universities, thinking it our way of giving back to the industry and helping it grow in […]
