Fresh Cut Magazine

Family-owned shipper expands fresh-cut operations

When Scott Danner, chief operating officer for Kansas City, Kan.-based Liberty Fruit Co., told owner and CEO Arnold Caviar that he needed to expand the company’s fresh-cut facility by 3,000 square feet, Caviar responded, "Screw it. If we need 3,000 (square feet), let’s do 7,000.” The addition to Carol’s Cuts, the fresh-cut division of Liberty, was completed in 2007, bringing the total operation to 12,000 square feet. The division, named for Arnold Caviar’s wife, was started in 2001 with a 500-square-foot area, and within three years had tripled in size. Other fresh-cut operations in Kansas City had closed up, and Carol’s Cuts was finding a growing market niche. “There was no other processor in the area,” Danner said. Liberty Fruit Liberty has been doing business in the Kansas City area for more than 40 years. Founded by Arnold Caviar’s father, the third generation of Caviars is now leading the…  » Read more

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Fresh Focus: Call an Audible When a Recall Occurs

So you think you’re ready for a product recall? You’ve probably conducted annual mock recalls over the years and have a written plan that the auditors look at when they’re in town. I bet you’ve even conducted a “paper trail” traceback exercise for customers in the past. But I would wager you are not ready for a real recall. When that happens, it’s time to “call an audible,” as they say in football. (In watching the playoffs, I learned you “call an audible” when you aren’t prepared for the other team’s set-up.) Practice might make perfect, but some situations call for a change in mid-stride. Just ask anyone at Earthbound Farms – the apex of the spinach recall in 2006. I heard Will Daniels, vice president of food safety, speak several months ago and I got worried – for the industry and for our clients. I…  » Read more

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Cruise line looks for solution to rotten produce problem

David Mizer doesn’t pull any punches, and he’s calling the produce industry “shy.” Mizer is vice president of strategic sourcing for Carnival Cruise Lines. He oversees purchases for the company, including the buying of perishables like fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. Carnival Cruise Lines operates 24 ships – with three more on the way – that serve a combined 1.2 million meals every day. And anyone who’s ever been on a cruise knows that meals on a ship are not simple fare. Carnival announced in January that it had partnered with Chef Georges Blanc, a French restaurateur. He’ll be creating exclusive menu items for the fleet’s main dining rooms, as well as a new dining option: The upscale and reservation-only supper clubs found on eight ships. The fleet’s poolside restaurants recently underwent renovations to include full breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets, 35-item salad bars and ethnic…  » Read more

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Going Where Kids Are

I was never allowed to have a video game console growing up, so it wasn’t until I went away to college that I discovered what the hype was all about. I recall playing a car racing game, and driving around the fictional city I remember seeing Best Buy stores – which looked identical to the company’s stone and mortar buildings – and my character’s cell phone was a Cingulair-branded phone. Another game had me driving through a different fictional city, past dozens of Taco Bell billboards in a fully licensed car. Video game ads are even more prominent today as the technology becomes more prominent, and healthy foods should be getting in on the action, so to speak. Video games are often viewed as “kid’s stuff,” but the average age of video game buyers has risen to 40 years old. This is the generation that grew up…  » Read more

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Sam’s Club suppliers not using RFID may face service charges

WalMart has aggressively been implementing radio frequency identification into its stores and distribution centers, and now its warehouse store, Sam’s Club, is doing the same. Beginning in February, suppliers shipping to the Sam’s Club distribution center in DeSoto, Tex., will face a per-pallet charge if their pallets did not have an RFID tag, according to a letter sent to Sam’s Club suppliers in January. The letter said the per-pallet charge would start at $2, rise to $2.50 in October and $3 starting February 2009. Sam’s Club is officially calling this a test, but rollout to 21 other distribution centers was identified in the letter to suppliers. Four facilities will require pallet-level RFID tags by Oct. 31 and 17 more will require them by the end of January 2009. Sam’s Club also will have a rolling schedule for moving to case-level RFID tags and item-level tagging. By…  » Read more

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