We have many boards and committees in the produce industry, but few are as important as the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.
This committee is crucial because it has the opportunity to make recommendations directly to the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
This year, there was some controversy over the Committee as we discussed in our pieces, USDA Fruit And Vegetable Advisory Committee Falls Short Of Mandatory Regulation Recommendation and Pundit’s Mailbag — ‘Mandatory’ Had To Be Removed To Get Advisory Committee Approval. Basically, the story was that the Committee, in its recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture, avoided the use of the word “mandatory,” which is what first United and then United and PMA had called for:
Recommendation — The Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee strongly recommends the Department of Agriculture facilitate and advocate the development and adoption of unified food safety standards for the fruit and vegetable industry that reflect the risks associated with individual commodities and the entire supply chain.
This raised important questions about how the industry will can best be reflected and how the composition of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee should best be determined.
The new Committee will now meet in January. It is important and influential, and we extend both our congratulations and our best wishes to each Committee member:
USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry
Advisory Committee Members — 2007-2009
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Danny Arnold A-W Produce Company Texas |
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Gordon Bowman Bowman Apple Products Virginia |
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Wayne Brandt Brandt Farms California |
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William Brim Lewis Taylor Farms Georgia |
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Frederick Caito Caito Foods Service Indiana |
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Charles Ciruli, Jr. Ciruli Brothers/Amex Distributing Company Arizona |
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Jim Corby Food Lion North Carolina |
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Scott Danner Liberty Fruit Company Kansas |
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Matthew D’Arrigo D’Arrigo Brothers New York |
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Andrew Deane Del Monte Foods California |
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Joseph DeVerna Ocean Spray Massachusetts |
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Michael Hollister Driscolls’ Inc. California |
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A.G. Kawamura California Department of Food and Agriculture California |
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Helen Masser Sterman Masser, Inc. Pennsylvania |
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Lisa McNeece Grimmway Enterprises California |
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John Millwater Fresh Express Texas |
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Luis Monterde B&M Blueberries Mississippi |
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Robert Morrissey National Watermelon Association Florida |
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Paul Newman Rainier Fruit Company Washington |
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Daniel Richey Riverfront Growers/Riverfront Packing Florida |
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Mike Stuart Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association Florida |
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Lisa Strube Strube Celery and Vegetable Company Illinois |
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Jennifer Verdelli Verdelli Farms Pennsylvania |
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Rebecca Wilson Tom Lange Company Illinois |
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Larry Yonce J.W. Yonce and Sons South Carolina |
May all your meetings be productive ones!
