Lorri Koster: Quiet Heroism Tinged By Tragedy, Powered By Obligation
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. William Shakespeare Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene V The title, Twelfth Night, is most commonly thought to be a reference to Epiphany — the twelfth night of Christmas. At the time Shakespeare was writing, the Epiphany […]
Problems Persist With PTI
We have been writing about traceability before traceability was cool. Now the Produce Traceability Initiative seems to be somewhat stuck. The problem, as we identified in our first piece on the subject, is two-fold: 1) Despite its many advantages, PTI does not actually solve the trade’s traceability problem. Completely aside from the fact that PTI […]
Last Chance To Recognize Young Leaders
The future of the industry is always being decided by people and their actions. The industry has thus established many mechanisms for attracting, developing and retaining good people. United has its Leadership Class and its Executive Development Program at Cornell University. PMA has long had its Leadership Symposium, the Pack Family/PMA Career Pathways Fund and […]
Clarification: Reggie Griffin Of Kroger To Be First Retail Chairman of United — In The Modern Era
Our piece, Watch History Being Made At United In Las Vegas: Steffanie Smith Becomes First Ex-Staffer Ever To Chair The Organization; Kroger’s Reggie Griffin Is Set Up To Become First Retailer To Chair United, explored the skills, abilities and experience of three recent leaders of United Fresh and the impact of these people and personalities […]
Qualities Of Leadership
Over the years, we have done a great deal on the issue of leadership. Many of the issues that seem substantive — traceability and whether United and PMA should merge or cooperate in some way — are less questions amenable to technical solution than they are challenges crying out for leadership. Leadership is, however, difficult […]
A+ For United’s Las Vegas Convention Effort; Will New Orleans Be A Winner?
The United Fresh Produce Association Convention and Exposition just held in Las Vegas was, in many ways, a triumph. When it comes to results, there were many profitable and productive meetings held, many exhibitors made connections that will more than pay for their booths, and there was certainly a variety of educational programs sufficient to […]
Industry Owes Debt Of Gratitude To Cindy Seel For Her Work At PMA FIT
In the fall of 2006, we ran a piece titled, PMA Foundation Prepares To Launch, which included a brief reference to the then-newly established foundation’s executive director: Recently Cindy Seel, a popular executive when she worked at PMA from 1997 to 2002 and a minor celebrity as she was the pioneer in a PMA experiment […]
FDA’s Michael Taylor Preaches ‘Scale Appropriate’ Food Safety Standards, Code Words For Exempting Small Farmers And Organics
Michael Taylor, the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods, addressed a general session audience at the United Fresh Produce Association Convention in Las Vegas. Pundit readers might be familiar with Mr. Taylor, as we ran his extensive testimony to Congress when he was Research Professor at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health […]
Al Lanfeld Writes To Frieda Caplan: Exemplifying A Kind-Hearted Industry
The great thing about producing the Perishable Pundit is that because we have an incredibly engaged readership we have an opportunity to interact with both the best and the brightest and those who contribute most to the advancement of the industry — from all around the world. This engagement is obvious from both the letters […]
We Need Electronic Documentation Systems: Lessons Learned From The Volcanic Ash
The headlines have been blasting about reopened skies in Europe: Britain Decides It’s Safe to Fly: Skies and Airports Reopen. But the produce and broader perishable food industry experienced great damage from the related suspension of air service: Volcano Ash Cloud Sets Off Global Domino Effect: • The lack of refrigeration facilities at the airport […]
