Fresh Cut Magazine

Food Safety Task Force Plays an Important Role

With food safety on virtually everyone’s minds these days, the Food Safety Task Force at Grimmway Farms, Arvin, Calif., is given the serious charge of protecting the quality and integrity of the many millions of pounds of carrots that pass through the company’s processing plants each day. Grimmway products are distributed from New Hampshire to New Zealand—near worldwide. The company, owned by the Grimm family, markets a variety of carrot products under the Grimmway brand: Baby Carrots, Carrot Chips, Carrot Dippers, Carrot Stixx™ Crinkle Cut Coins, Bunch Carrots, Cello Carrots, Shredded Carrots, Jumbo Carrots and Table Carrots. Pat Kelly, director of quality assurance and food safety for the multi-million-dollar company, is proud of Grimmway’s high quality food safety program, but especially the way its Food Safety Task Force has stepped up to the plate. Grimmway is the largest volume carrot producer in the world. Food…  » Read more

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NAS Report on Percholrate Released

The long awaited report on perchlorate, “Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestion,” is officially out. It is the tool that policy makers will be using to develop science-based standards to ensure public health. The report is based on an exhaustive review of research on the health effects of perchlorate. The following are conclusions from the report stated in a National Academy of Science (NAS) news release: • Environmental releases of perchlorate have been discovered in 35 states, and more than 11 million people have perchlorate in their drinking water at concentrations of 4 parts per billion or higher. • Daily ingestion of up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (estimated to be around 20 ppb) can occur without adversely affecting the health of even the most sensitive populations. That amount is more than 20 times the “reference dose” proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection…  » Read more

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Italian Pre-cut Sales Taking Off

Minimally processed products were introduced in Italy in the 1980s after enjoying big commercial success in French markets. While they got off to a slow start, processors are now witnessing exciting markets in terms of growth. Italy’s fresh-cut produce sales witnessed a 38 percent increase in value in 2003 compared to the previous year. During that same time frame, sales jumped 123 percent in the southern part of the country, offering significant growth opportunities for those companies supplying pre-cut fruits and vegetables located there. In 1999, there were 50 companies producing minimally processed fruits and vegetables in Italy. Of those, 33 were producing fresh-cut produce products, categorized as “quarta gamma,” while the other 17 were marketing what the Italians call “Quinta gamma” products, or ready-to-use, lightly-processed, perishable products requiring refrigerated storage. Professor Giancarlo Colelli of the Universita’ degli Studi di Foggia, Foggia, Italy, provides a…  » Read more

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Food Safety Product Showcase

Dataloggers from Hanna Instruments The HI 140 and HI 141 series of dataloggers from Hanna Instruments are ideal for HACCP programs, particularly in produce packing/shipping applications. These simple-to-use waterproof loggers may be programmed to a number of temperature ranges and can store up to 16,000 temperature samples in a password protected memory. Programming and downloading data is easily performed with Hanna Instruments’ Windows® compatible software and available RS232 infrared transmitter. The password security feature of the HI 140 and HI 141 series guards the unit as well as the lots so the data cannot be altered before or after the logging sessions have been performed. For more information, contact Hanna Instruments at (800) 426-6287, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit http://www.hannainst.com. Steritech Upgrades Online Food Safety Management System The Steritech Group Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has upgraded its online food…  » Read more

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Squash Your Roach Problem

Few pests quicken the pulse or raise an eyebrow as much as cockroaches. These crawling insects have a way of instilling a sense of fear and disgust in many people, despite the fact that the pests only measure up to an inch and a half long. Besides the unpleasant sight of a roach scampering across the floor, the discarded exoskeletons and excrement of these creatures are now known to cause allergic reactions for some people with respiratory problems. As spring ushers in warmer temperatures, these pests will become even more active and begin scurrying around food processing plants and other food-handling facilities looking for meals and shelter. The biggest problem for food processing plants is that roaches will eat almost anything and are attracted to the smells given off by all types of food and products. Once inside a facility, roaches can begin contaminating a…  » Read more

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Irradiation Improves Safety of Food Supply, Report Notes

Food irradiation is a proven, beneficial method of improving the safety of the food supply and poses no human health threat. This, according to the latest Scientific Status Summary Irradiation and Food Safety, published by the not-for-profit Institute of Food Technologists and included in a recent issue of Food Technology magazine. The report specifically addresses and counters what it describes as misleading claims that irradiation produces worrisome carcinogenic byproducts, is harmful to the environment, substantially reduces food macro- and micro-nutrients or that it use allows for sloppy practices elsewhere in the food processing line. The summary supports the use of this technology as a means to inactivate pathogens, maintain quality and increase shelf life as part of an effective overall food processing management system. The report calls for further research to focus on: pathogen reduction prot9ocols allowing for standards in pathogen control levels; inactivation of…  » Read more

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Fresh-cut News

Fresh-cut HACCP Workshop The University of Georgia-Athens (UGA) is hosting a special Fresh-cut HACCP Workshop May 18-20 at the Extension Food Science Training Facility in Athens, Ga. The course is under the direction of the UGA’s Dr. William C. Hurst and includes such instructors as Dr. Jim Gorny of the International Fresh-cut Produce Association, Dr. Darbie M. Granberry, Dr. Joseph Frank, Dr. Mark A. Harrison, Dr. A. Estes Reynolds and Dr. James A. Daniels. Most serve on the UGA faculty. Also participating will be a recall compliance officer with the Federal Drug Administration. Cost for the three-day workshop is $500, if registered before April 15; $550, if after that. The cutoff date for registering is May 6. Participants are responsible for their own lodging. A block of rooms will be held until April 25 at the Holiday Inn Express, 513 West Broad Street, in downtown…  » Read more

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An Introduction to Helping Your Program Become ‘Above the Best!’

By Henry C. Carsberg, P.S. I n the past, many food processors thought that by throwing some chemicals on their equipment, and the stronger the better, that they were doing an acceptable cleaning job. They thought the sanitation crew was a necessary evil, composed of mystical gnomes who worked in the plant at night, unsupervised, then vanished come the dawn and everything was “cleaned-up”. Too many times I have encountered food processing management who view sanitation with an exasperated attitude of “It’s just something I have to do!” The sanitation/food safety crew is treated with little respect, and we wonder why there is such a high turnover in staff. If chemicals can be bought at a cheap price, they consider that a “good deal,” never taking into account the real costs of a food safety/sanitation program as that of labor and attitude. This is just…  » Read more

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People in the News

Bob Whitaker Ken Silveira Mark Miller Matthew Caito Robert J. Whitaker New IFPA Chairman The International Fresh-cut Produce Association has a new slate of executive officers for 2005. Robert J. Whitaker, Ph.D., a senior executive at NewStar Fresh Foods LLC, is the new chairman of the Board of Directors. He replaces Ken Silveira, president and chief operating officer of Tanimura & Antle Inc., who will continue as past chairman of the board. Joining the IFPA Board as new officers are: Mark Miller, owner and president of Fresh From Texas/Energy Sprouts Inc., vice chairman, and Matthew Caito, director of marketing for Caito Foods/Freshline, as secretary/treasurer. Four new members were also elected to the Board. Serving new, three-year terms are: Gary Black, president, Condies Foods Inc.; Parker Booth, vice president, Food Service Division, Fresh Express Inc.; Bob Jenkins, chief operating officer, River Ranch Fresh Foods LLC; and…  » Read more

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Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management

By H. Louis Cooperhouse Rutgers University Food Innovation Center A food safety emergency is a crisis in which an unplanned event triggers a real, perceived, or possible threat to public safety and health, and to a company’s reputation and credibility. Such a crisis has the potential to significantly impact the company’s operations or to pose a significant economic, reputation, or legal liability. An effective food safety emergency response policy, potentially involving a product recall, will require the cooperation of many departments in a company, typically including the company CEO as well as senior management that have responsibilities in quality assurance, R&D, marketing, sales, customer service, public affairs, operations, distribution, finance and legal. If engaged, a crisis management team must be prepared to immediately contain any potential problem and be trained to: • Assess crisis characteristics. • Determine the level of crisis, and if a recall…  » Read more

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Fresh-cut Opportunities in Catering

Fresh-cut Opportunities in Catering Fresh Cut February 2005 If Brett Lewis, corporate executive chef for Centerplate, is correct, there are significant opportunities ahead for fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America’s booming catering business. Catering is one of the fastest growth areas in foodservice, second only to restaurants, according to Kerry Stackpole, Columbia, Md., executive director of the National Association of Catering Executives. Annual sales are estimated at $19 billion. This figure includes all kinds of catering services, from hotels and restaurants to ball parks, weddings and other special occasions. With more than 125 client accounts and revenues over $600 million at the end of 2003, Centerplate, based in Spartanburg, S.C., is one of North America’s leading providers of food and catering services for sports, convention and entertainment venues. Since 1973, Centerplate has been serving professional and collegiate sports facilities, convention and civic centers, indoor…  » Read more

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International Focus

Grupo Primaflor c/ Estación, 2 04640 Pulpí (Almería) Spain Tel: (+34) 950 464 011 Fax: (+34) 950 464 118 http://www.primaflor.com .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Managing Director: Lorenzo Belmonte With its headquarters in Pulpi, Almeria, Spain, Grupo Primalfor specializes in producing leafy vegetables and is the industry leader in iceberg lettuce. The company markets 52 different products, produced on approximately 3,000 hectares. Sold under the PRIMA and SOL DE PULPI brand names, the products are distributed through 12 different markets all across Europe. Because of Grupo Primaflor’s reputation for producing high quality vegetable varieties and booming market demand for pre-cut salads, the company established its first fresh-cut processing venture in 2001. Today, Grupo Primaflor’s salads are sold to a growing list of customers, including supermarkets, wholesale markets and distributors. Sales continue to expand, and the future looks bright. To meet the…  » Read more

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