Unhealthy Restaurant Salads
The Pundit and Mrs. Pundit are uncertain if it is love of the Jr. Pundits or a masochistic streak — but we elected to spend the family’s summer vacation in Pennsylvania visiting various child-centered theme parks. For a few days, we are here at the Hotel Hershey visiting Hersheypark. From here we will continue on […]
Farm Bill’s Produce Pittance Points To Apathy For Government Relations
Here at Pundit Central, we have received at least 40 press releases from various organizations celebrating the recent passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a new Farm Bill, which includes more funding for nutrition and conservation initiatives, including more money for fresh produce than ever before. It is a triumph for the Specialty […]
Service Wholesalers And Independent Stores
The Pundit spends a fairly substantial portion of his life giving speeches and talks. Keynote addresses before large audiences, broker meetings, board presentations, strategic retreats, chain retail meetings, commodity specific meetings, universities — all in a day’s work. One group that often calls and often impresses the Pundit is produce-specific service wholesalers. Often, though not […]
More Food Safety Lessons From Chinese Ginger Recall
The news reports were bad: TAINTED CHINESE GINGER WAS DISTRIBUTED BY GILROY COMPANY State health officials are warning against eating fresh ginger from China that a Gilroy company distributed to Northern California supermarkets in recent weeks. Tests show it was tainted with an unapproved pesticide. Although no illnesses have been reported, officials warned that samples […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — Opposing Views On GMO/Organic Issue
Our piece, CCOF Opposition To GMOs Outweighs Commitment To National Standards, brought several responses including one from CCOF itself and another from an advocacy organization opposed to GMOs. Both make the same claim: That because no Federal regulation exists on where farmers can plant GMO crops, states and localities should be free to regulate this […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — What Is The Best Model For Industry Lobbying Efforts?
Our piece, COOL Compromise Shows Association Leadership But Battle Scars Remain, brought this well-informed comment from an important industry leader: I appreciate reading your thoughtful analysis of the COOL issue and its related impacts on the working relationships among United, PMA, and Western Growers. I disagree with your apparent thinking that the new WGA office […]
Let’s Get Fat Together
Here at the Pundit, we are having trouble keeping up with the volume of ridiculous research we are sent every day. Actually the research is not ridiculous, but the over-the-top claims made by the researchers often are ridiculous. We talked about a study on grapefruit and breast cancer here and about consuming extra produce here. […]
Ready Pac President Does Push-ups To Motivate Perfect Food Safety Score
Dennis Gertmenian, the Founder, CEO and President of Ready Pac, sought to motivate his team to achieve the highest levels of food safety. To provide some strong motivation, Dennis made a bet with a plant manager that if his plant would score a perfect 100% on a food safety audit, Dennis would come down to […]
Church Brothers/True Leaf Recalls, Then ‘Unrecalls’ Spring Mix/Arugula After Testing Mishap
There was a recall at Church Brothers/True Leaf Farms and there didn’t have to be one. This is a story as distressing as it is sad. Millions of dollars were wasted for no reason at all. Good people struggling to do the right thing while the industry struggles to know the meaning and importance of […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — California Leafy Greens Audit Should Weed Out The Weak
Our piece, California Leafy Greens Audit Means Some Will Pass And Some Must Fail, suggested that the industry was in a Catch-22. In order to prove we have tough standards and thus gain consumer and regulatory confidence, we better have a bunch of handlers fail the new inspection regime; yet if they fail the inspections, […]
