Fresh Cut Magazine

Championing Carrots

A coalition of carrot growers is working to promote baby carrots in the junk food market. To get the word out, four carrot growers have joined together and hired an agency to create a promotion designed to get people to eat more carrots. The alliance was spearheaded by Bakersfield, Calif.-based Bolthouse Farm and includes A.F. Silveira & Sons, Greenfield, Calif.; Blackwell Land LLC, Bakersfield, Calif.; and Borzini Farms, King City, Calif. CP+B of Boulder, Colo., developed the integrated consumer campaign, which satirizes junk food marketing and carves out a unique niche for baby carrots. CP+B is an award-winning, international agency that has a client list that includes Burger King, Microsoft, Kraft, Domino's Pizza and many more names recognized by consumers. The campaign is called "eat ‘em like junk food" and was first rolled out in mid-September in Syracuse, N.Y., and Cincinnati markets. The campaign will…  » Read more

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Foodservice 2020

Last year's Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference and Expo in Monterey, Calif., saw the announcement of Foodservice 2020, an ambitious goal to double the use of fresh produce in foodservice by the year 2020. One year later, the initiative has already made an impact, and associations, buyers, growers and processors are working together toward that goal. According to recent Mintel market research data, produce use has risen 10 percent at foodservice already, said Bryan Silbermann, PMA's president and CEO. That is evidence that when the industry comes together, it can accomplish great things. "To the doubters, I say, unless we reach for the stars, we will never reach the moon," Silbermann told a packed room during the opening general session at the 2010 Foodservice Conference last month. "We really have no choice but to act, and we must act together. The road is certainly long,…  » Read more

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Modernizing cGMPs

Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) were first promulgated by FDA in 1969, and the last time they were updated was in 1986. Since that time, the food supply system and American dietary habits have changed, so FDA is in the process of revising cGMPs to include the latest science and prevention-based practices. "Certainly, many changes have occurred in the food industry since 1986, most notably in the availability of ready-to-eat foods, including fresh-cut produce," said Paul South of the Division of Plant Product Safety, Office of Plant and Dairy Foods in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). South spoke to members of the industry at the United Fresh Public Policy Conference, Fresh-Cut Processor breakout session. When the modernized cGMPs are put in place, fresh-cut processors will be required to comply with the updated practices when they are developed, based on risk factors…  » Read more

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