Continuous Tracking Study
Of Consumer Attitudes Shows Eroding Confidence In Food Safety
Over in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Star Tribunemaintains one of the most thoughtful editorial pages and commentary sections in the country, and thanks to the Internet and RSS feeds, its selections have come to be read widely across the country and around the world. So we were tickled pink when, in the course of an editorial […]
Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Has a Recall;Sanctimonious Claims to Merit Consumer Trust Called Into Question
We have extensively covered Tesco’s Fresh & Easy since before its journey to America even started. We’ve mentioned that the company managed to alienate a big part of the supply base, by, for example, contemptuously refusing to join the produce trade associations such as PMA, United Fresh and the Fresh Produce and Floral Council despite […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Big Question For Organic Certification: Will USDA Step In To Clarify Certifier’s Responsibilities?
David Sasuga kicked off our coverage of the issue of the use of non-organic fertilizer on land certified as organic. The series that grew out of his initial note is substantial: ‘Spiked’ Organic Fertilizer Raises Consumer Doubts About Organic Definition Pundit’s Mailbag — Organic Industry’s ‘Situational’ Standard Pundit’s Mailbag — As ‘Spiked’ Organic Fertilizer Investigation […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Legality Of CCOF’s ‘Spiked’ Fertilizer Actions Questioned
To date we have run four substantial pieces analyzing the controversy surrounding California Certified Organic Farmers and its decision not to require recalls and not to reclassify land that had been treated with synthetic fertilizer as transitional: ‘Spiked’ Organic Fertilizer Raises Consumer Doubts About Organic Definition, Pundit’s Mailbag — Organic Industry’s ‘Situational’ Standard Pundit’s Mailbag […]
Perishable Thoughts —
Winners Are Those Who Dare
Scott Danner, Chief Operating Officer of Liberty Fruit Co., Kansas City, Kansas, has been among the more prolific contributors to the Pundit in general, and this Perishable Thoughts section in particular. Among the general pieces he has contributed are these: Pundit’s Mailbag — Traceability Is Part Of The Food Safety Solution Pundit’s Mailbag — When […]
Does ‘Lack Of Access’
To Fruits And Vegetables
Steer Kids To Fries And Juice?
Writing in USA Today, Nanci Hellmich pens a piece that runs under the headline, ‘Eat Your Vegetables’: For Kids, it Means Fries. She makes a succinct point: Kids aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables, and when they do consume produce, they are more likely to eat french fries than nutrient-rich dark green or orange vegetables, […]
March Travel Schedule
From time to time we try to provide an update on where we have been and what we are doing. In the past we’ve defined our purpose in doing so this way: A lot of the work we undertake to help the industry is not actually represented on the Pundit. In fact sometimes all the […]
SPECIAL NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Prevor Wins An Award,
But Industry Gets The Prize
Will anyone care if an industry member, say, Bryan Silbermann or Tom Stenzel, or, in this case, Jim Prevor, wins an award? If the award is for the right thing, I think so. That’s why I’ve taken over today’s Pundit to tell you about just such an award and why it matters to the industry. […]
Produce Takes Greater Role
In Sustainability Standards
Our extensive work in sustainability included a series of pointed critiques of initial efforts to establish an ANSI standard for the industry. These critiques include pieces such as these: Sustainability Standard Being Steamrolled — Does A Sustainable Vision Encompass Only Organics? The Imperative For Action (Part 1) No Standardization Without Representation (Part 2) The Produce […]
Perishable Thoughts — Tesco’s Missed Mark: American Consumer Complexity
As we reflected on Tesco’s recent admission that it had profoundly misunderstood the American consumer, we thought about the difficulty that a foreigner has in doing business in another country. Though the difficulty is multiplied if the challenge is working with consumers, that is not the only challenge. For example, we ran a piece pointing […]
