Just as we were going to press, we received sad news:
I don’t know whether you’ve heard the news that Bob Backovich passed away last night of a rare kidney ailment. He was truly one of the old lions of the industry. He precisely fit his nickname of “The Boomer”.
— Grant Hunt
Grant J. Hunt Company
Bob was a giant in the industry, Chairman of PMA, a leader in promoting nutrition education and, for the last 20 years, he never failed to write us at PRODUCE BUSINESS whenever we wrote about the need for quality product.
Bob helped us analyze the growth of retail bureaucracy in a piece for the Pundit.
We never spoke to him about this Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, but we can imagine his distress at seeing healthy products disparaged by such an issue.
Our condolences to Bob’s family and friends.
