Hurricane Dean Wreaks Havoc On Banana-Producing Islands
We’ve had numerous discussions of the problems the earthquake has caused in Peru. We started out with Earthquake In Peru Prompts Appeal For Help To Farm Workers There, which was followed by Pundit’s Mailbag — Tents Needed In Peru. We also ran a piece entitled Sun-World Launches Peru Earthquake Relief Program. Most recently, we published […]
Lessons From Carrot Recall: Los Angeles Salad Company Execs Share Their Experience
Our piece, Costco Recalls Mexican Grown, U.S. Packed Baby Carrots From Canadian Stores, was written as the Shigella outbreak was just being reported. In the confusion, we incorrectly stated that the carrots were grown in Mexico and packed in the U.S. In fact, they were both grown and packed in Mexico. To understand what happened […]
Whole Foods Uses Boulder, Colorado, As Testing Ground Of New Concepts
Whole Foods has moved quickly to reassure the Boulder, Colorado, community of its commitment to the area, an important task as Boulder is both the headquarters for Wild Oats and an important market for Whole Foods and Wild Oats. The comeuppance? No Wild Oats stores will close — at least for now — but a […]
FDA Official Reveals Agency’s Role In Food Safety Recall
When word of the Metz Fresh recall on spinach broke, the reactions recorded in the press were predictable: Some growers said Metz Fresh’s ability to catch the bacteria showed new testing regimes implemented by the industry were working. “I think the test of the industry is how we react to these types of situations,” said […]
A&P Slaps Suit On Produce-Licking Video Rappers
It was just a video made by a couple of college students, but A&P decided to sue them for a million dollars. Next thing you know, the headlines were everywhere: One of America’s oldest grocers has sued two college students for licking its produce on YouTube. Last week, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Company — […]
Kash n’ Karry Is Now 100% Sweetbay
The very last Kash n’ Karry has closed and the sign has gone up for a new Sweetbay. The heritage goes back to 1914 and the Kash n’ Karry banner, back in 1962, pioneered something approaching Every Day Low Pricies (EDLP) by eschewing trade stamps and whatnot. The chain was once owned by Lucky Stores […]
Traceability Falls Short At Distributor Level
In the wake of the Metz Fresh recall, one thing that has become obvious is that traceability is breaking down. The problem is not growers and packers and processors as we have all been focusing on; it is local distributors and retail distribution centers. Look at what happens in foodservice: As an example, a distributor […]
Recall Of Metz Fresh Spinach Shows Lessons Still Not Learned
Just when it looked like the Salinas spinach season might pass without incident, we received noticeof a problem: METZ FRESH ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY RECALL OF SPINACH Test Shows Presence of Salmonella Metz Fresh, LLC is voluntarily recalling bagged spinach as a result of a positive test for Salmonella found during routine company testing. The spinach is […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Report On Peru’s Earthquake Damage
We have run several pieces regarding the humanitarian crisis created by the earthquake in Peru. Most recently our article, Donations To Relieve Peru Are Cause Of Discussion, suggested ways industry members can contribute to help relieve the suffering and explored the kind of produce industry institutional response that might be appropriate. Here at the Pundit, […]
On Other Things Perishable
In case anyone needs a reminder that food is not the only thing perishable… just take a look at the news that Acer will be acquiring Gateway: Gateway shares peaked at $84 in November 1999 and then began a more than seven-year slide in value. Earlier this month, the stock bottomed out at $1.13 a […]
