Fresh Cut Magazine

A Green Fusion

Pizza is one of the most consumed foodservice products in the United States – the category accounts for about 10 percent of all foodservice sales. Pizza sales have steadily increased over the years and now account for more than $30 billion in annual sales and 17 percent of restaurants in the United States are pizzerias. At the same time, the organic segment has grown from sales of $1 billion in 1990 to more than $28 billion in 2008, with double-digit sales growth almost every year. And with organics accounting for only 3 percent of foodservice sales, one enterprising business sought to marry the pizza industry and the organic market into a new business model. That company is Pizza Fusion, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based franchise with 20 stores in 11 states and one international location. The company was founded in 2006 by two college friends – Vaughn Lazar…  » Read more

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A Healthy Lifestyle

Lifestyle Foods Inc., a fresh-cut processor based in York, Pa., has only been operating for four years, but already it’s expanding its lineup around healthful food choices. “I think healthy food is in demand everywhere. I think it’s an emerging category,” said Jason Bross, president and one of the founders of Lifestyle Foods. Bross started in the food industry in 1996 at Winter Gardens, a Pennsylvania-based processor, and quickly rose to president and CEO of the company before starting the new company in 2005. His goals as president of Lifestyle Foods are to sell the company’s products in every Starbucks store in the country and have an ad in New York City’s Times Square, according to the Lifestyle Foods Web site (http://www.lifestylefoods.net). Ray Lopez Jr. is the chief operating officer for Lifestyle Foods. He has more than 10 years experience in the food industry, most recently with…  » Read more

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Going Green

The past few years have witnessed a tremendous growth in the environmental movement. While the roots of the modern green movement date back to the late 1960s, never before has it been so easy for the average consumer to buy products designed and manufactured with sustainability in mind. Many in the fresh-cut industry have taken sustainability to heart. Whether it’s going so far as to build a biogas facility that uses waste to create energy, as Gills Onions has done, or to work with growers to reduce pesticide use and use fewer inks or corn-starch based film bags, processors are steadily joining the ranks of green producers. This month’s Fresh Cut is focused on green initiatives. Inside, you’ll read about Lifestyle Foods, which looked at environmentally friendly packaging when it expanded its line of convenience grab-and-go items. You’ll also find a story on an innovative new pizza…  » Read more

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PMA Adds to Food Safety Team

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) announced in early January that it was reorganizing the staff to better implement its strategic plans. The staff changes, and the addition of food safety expert Johhna Hepner, will further strengthen the association’s food safety initiatives. The food safety and traceability teams have been combined during the reorganization under the leadership of Bob Whitaker, chief science and technology officer for PMA. This group will be responsible for all of the association’s food safety and traceability programs, including the Produce Traceability Initiative. In mid-January, PMA announced that it had hired Johnna Hepner to work with the food safety team as the director of food safety and technology. Hepner has more than 20 years of experience in food safety, most recently as the food safety director for Markon Cooperative Inc. in Salinas, Calif. She was at Markon for 17 years, and prior to…  » Read more

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