Fresh Cut Magazine

Adding Produce to WIC

The produce industry heard some positive news in the last month: the government has announced proposed changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These changes include fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains. WIC provides pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women and their infants and children to age 5 with nutritious foods. According to the program, about 8 million women receive the benefits of WIC each month. In 2005 alone, federal costs for the program were $3.6 billion. This boost would not only encourage more people to eat fresh produce, but it will encourage those who maybe wouldn’t have in the past – these are new consumers. These are consumers who might not be able to afford the fruits and vegetables necessary to lead a healthy life. And it encourages young children to eat fruits and vegetables – consumers…  » Read more

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Strong Oxidizers Present Alternatives to Chlorine Washes

Chlorine is the most common sanitizer used in fresh-cut fruit and vegetable production. It is an effective sanitizer that has its advantages, but fresh-cut processors are finding new ways to use older chemicals to ensure a safe food supply. When Les Lipschutz started in the produce industry more than 25 years ago, he said, it was common to hear recommendations that the industry move away from chlorine. He now has a food-safety consulting company, Albuquerque, N.M.-based Food Safety, Inc., and the industry is still using chlorine, but as a whole, processors are a lot more sophisticated, he said. “The larger companies get, the more they know they have to invest in their food-safety procedures,” Lipschutz said. By now, chlorine is a well-understood sanitizer that is easy to regulate, effectively kills microorganisms and breaks down in less than 24 hours. But if not kept between pH 6.0 and…  » Read more

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Fresh Focus: Ethnic Population, College Students Spur Organic Growth

I’ve been thinking about the organic food industry lately. New products seem to be coming on the market every day and yet, for all the talk of growth and success, there’s something missing. I don’t feel the trend in my everyday experience. For instance, none of my friends or family members buy these products, nor do I see organic foods popping up on restaurant menus or in recipe ingredient lists. If these foods are so hot, why aren’t we eating them at weekend barbecues or talking about them in casual conversations as we would other food trends? In trying to predict the growth potential, it is easier to put a frame around a new trend if we can experience it in our everyday lives so we can make internal predictions about its market potential. Maybe the population that is buying organic produce is made up…  » Read more

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ARS Looks at All Aspects of Fresh-Cut Produce

Conveniently packaged fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are showing up in more and more consumer markets. Ready-to-eat sliced apples, for example, are now being offered by fast-food chains and school cafeterias. With high fiber and low calorie content, precut produce provides busy consumers with healthful options on the go. At the ARS Produce Quality and Safety Laboratory (PQSL) in Beltsville, Md., several research projects and studies have led to findings that will benefit processors, package manufacturers, distributors and grocers. “Maintaining consumer acceptance of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables after processing and throughout distribution is a challenge to the fresh-cut industry,” said Kenneth Gross, a plant physiologist who heads the PQSL. “We’re conducting research to help find ways to widen the variety of offerings that stay fresh to the last bite.” Packaging Package wraps, called “films,” that cover precut produce appear to simply offer containment. But today’s package films are more than…  » Read more

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North Carolina Fresh-Cut Processor Looks for More Than Holiday Sales

George Wooten, president of Wayne E. Bailey Produce Company, had the idea for fresh-cut sweet potatoes more than 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until this year that products started coming off the line of George Foods. Wooten founded the Pembroke, N.C., company to provide customers with the convenience that has been lacking in sweet potatoes. With U.S. consumption at only 3.8 pounds a year compared to 28.5 pounds a year in 1930, George Foods has a bit of an uphill battle. But Wooten said the fresh-cut idea should change people’s minds about the vegetable. U.S. consumers see the sweet potato as a holiday item and sales typically revolve around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But the sweet potato is actually a very versatile vegetable, Wooten said, because there’s nothing you can’t do with it. It can be part of an entrée, a side dish or a dessert. “You can…  » Read more

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