Pundit’s Mailbag — Two Windows And Two Issues
Our piece, California Marketing Board Accepts GAP Metrics, brought an interesting response: The two best websites discussing e. coli and spinach that I found, without previous knowledge of them, are Bill Marler and the Perishable Pundit. I testified at the USDA hearing in Oakland on two risk issues not under grower control: lack of medical […]
Guest Pundit: Traceability — A Forgotten Piece Of Food Safety
Here at the Pundit we’ve paid close attention to issues surrounding traceability. To help with understanding this complex issue, we have asked Gary Fleming, Vice President, Industry Technology and Standards for the Produce Marketing Association, to contribute to industry understanding on this important issue. First, in Guest Pundit — Traceability And the Need For A […]
Ready Pac/Bayside Deal Leaves One Wondering What Happened To Univeg
One of the wackiest deals in the produce industry keeps getting wackier. After months of on-again, off-again negotiations, Univeg announced back at Fruit Logistica in Berlin that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Ready Pac, an event we analyzed here. It was always a unusual situation. Typically these types of announcements are […]
Center For Produce Safety Established:
An Act Of Faith In The Future
When so much happens in a very short time as it has with the spinach/E. coli 0157:H7 situation and its aftermath, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between what is ephemeral and what carries true significance. A thousand generations hence, when the spinach crisis of 2006 is not even a memory, one institution is likely […]
Does Constant Food Safety Talk
Make Situation Worse?
As the industry celebrates its victories on the food safety front, we turn to some thoughts sent by one of the most important voices on the retail side of the business: My question for the Pundit is this: When it comes to food safety, is the cure worse than the disease? I’m thinking of all […]
Wal-Mart: The Name On The Door
Is the Same; The Thoughts Inside
Are Very Different
What’s in a name? Will Wal-Mart be as successful if it is a different company? This is more than an academic question. This past Friday, Wal-Mart announced that Pat Curran, who was the Chief Operating Officer for the Wal-Mart Stores division, has been reassigned to Executive Vice President of People for that division. Bill Simon […]
Pundit Mailbag —
AgJOBS Bill Needs More Support
Our piece Pundit’s Mailbag — AgJOBS vs. Lou Dobbs — featured an impassioned plea from Jim Allen, President of the New York Apple Association, Inc. for the industry to speak out and encourage the passage of the AgJOBS bill. The piece brought a quick response from Charles Walker, Managing Director of the National Peach Council, […]
Understanding And Assessing Risk
Being on this ski mountain in Utah really makes one think that the whole food safety issue is somewhat bizarre. People spend thousands of dollars to travel here from all over the world. They wait on lines, look forward to it for years. Some give up promising careers to become so-called “ski bums.” Yet at […]
Pundit’s Mailbag — At Your Service
Alan L. Siger, Consumers Produce Co.
Don Harris, Wild Oats Markets
Fred Stein, FRED International
Paul Klutes, C.H. Robinson
Our Pundit Special Edition included an overview article detailing A Big Win For The Industry, which came about when it was announced that NRA Adopts Leafy Greens GAP Metrics, and the pièce de résistance was the news that Fresh Express Signs California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. We are extremely gratified to have received many phone […]
Moving Food Safety On To
Other Commodities:
California Tomato Farmers Raise The Bar
Now that the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has taken effect, there is a danger that the industry will think the food safety problem has been “handled.” In fact, even if the Marketing Agreement is successful at solving the problem for leafy greens, it still covers just one commodity group out of one state. That […]
