Food Safety in the News
In this month’s issue of Fresh Cut, which you should receive in your mailbox soon, you’ll find an article about FDA, CDC and USDA working together to improve food safety. One of their first projects is to reduce illnesses from Salmonella enteritidis, which is almost exclusively linked to eggs.

Coincidentally, within the past two weeks we’ve seen the largest egg recall ever, with almost 500 million eggs from two farms recalled due to the possible presence of that salmonella strain. In a recent public forum, representatives from the agencies said food safety is a priority, and the egg project is an example of how measures will be mandated moving forward.

For once, the federal agencies may be ahead of the curve. Their outcomes and results might be skewed thanks to this salmonella outbreak, but consumers in the future may be able to buy eggs with confidence. The produce industry should watch closely what the federal agencies are doing and prepare for mandated food safety measures. The industry and its associations are working diligently to ensure a safe food supply and inform those in Washington D.C. about mitigation and tracking measures.

That’s a big part of why United Fresh’s Washington Public Policy Conference exists. I’ll be covering the meeting this year, so watch www.freshcut.com for updates and stories from the conference.

Industry Spotlight

Market Report
FDA released two guidances on Aug. 24 that direct chain restaurants on how to comply with new federal nutrition labeling laws. The new regulations will apply to restaurants with 20 or more locations or vending machine operators with 20 or more machines.

The first document is a draft guidance describing how and where restaurants should post nutrition information. In the draft guidance, chain retail food establishments would be required to display calorie information for all menu items on menus and menu boards, provide additional nutrition information available to customers on request, post about the availability of additional information and post calorie information for self-service items on signs next to the item.

The guidance also covers vending machine chain operators. Vending machines would be required to post nutrition information for all items where that information isn’t clearly visible before purchasing.

To comment on the draft guidance, submit written or electronic comments by Oct. 12 to www.regulations.gov or Division of Dockets Management (HFA–305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

The second document released by FDA was a final guidance on the effect that new federal labeling requirements have on state and local laws. According to the document in the Federal Register, the federal government will not immediately enforce the new regulations, but will provide some time frame for chain restaurants and vending machine operators to come into compliance.

Product Highlight: Misionero Vegetables
Misionero Vegetables is rebranding its conventional line of retail lettuce leaf products from Garden Cuts to Garden Life.

The new logo, which features the words Garden Life with a leaf merging from the soil, took six months to develop, according to the company.

“We wanted the new brand to communicate our founder’s vision of freshness, quality and sustainability in a simplistic design. Garden Life ties in more closely to our products. It also conveys a global message to our customers and consumers,” said Dan Canales, vice president of sales and marketing.

Misionero Garden Life products will be available at retail shelves by this fall.