Fresh Cut Magazine

Davy Crockett Economics

I’ve spent an entire day following the economic crisis that is upon us. General Motors’ stock hit a 55-year low, and Ford’s is even lower and it has $29 billion in loans outstanding. Banks worldwide are failing, and the U.S. government is bailing out banks and investment companies that have been driven – or driven themselves – out of business. The cost of heating oil is predicted to increase 21 percent this winter. Credit card rates are going up and the availability of loans is going down. But at least the cost of gas is dropping. All this doom and gloom has led me to consider a drastic change in my lifestyle. Instead of driving to the store to buy goods that are increasing in price, I’ll begin growing my own food. I can hunt for meat, and anything I kill can also be used for clothing.…  » Read more

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Mexican processor expanding as market matures

In 2000, Fresh Cut magazine featured a two-year-old Mexican fresh-cut processor that was doing about $500,000 in sales. Eight years later – and 10 years after its founding – that company is doing $10 million in sales and building the Mexican fresh-cut market. “That’s pretty nice growth,” said Ray Cid, general manager for Food Solutions S.A., which markets products under the Nutribits brand. That growth was the result of Food Solutions focusing on two key goals: expanding the Nutribits brand and working with U.S.-based companies to grow the fresh-cut segment. The two go hand in hand, Cid said, with U.S. suppliers and retailers creating new stores and introducing products to Mexican consumers and the Nutribits brand creating fresh-cut products designed to consumers’ tastes. The fresh-cut Nutribits line is distributed throughout Mexico through Mexican and U.S. retail chains, including Costco, Wal-Mart and HEB. Processing is done at the company’s…  » Read more

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Hundreds sickened at two campuses, thousands of miles apart

Many college students rely on campus dining for a majority of their meals, but what does a university do when a disease is traveling through campus, and the dining rooms may be the source? Both the University of Southern California and Georgetown University were hit by cases of norovirus in early October. At USC, the gastrointestinal virus sickened 330 students and 215 at Georgetown fell ill from the same virus. Norovirus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, with symptoms that last one to two days and is rarely fatal. It’s a self-limiting disease because the outbreak usually ends on its own, but secondary outbreaks are common. A sick or recently recovered patient can spread the virus up to 14 days after becoming sick, with the largest risk in the first 72 hours, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. At Georgetown, the school became aware…  » Read more

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