High demand for Peruvian onions this season

It has been an unusual onion season this year in Peru. Roberto Monge of KeyPeru shares: “To begin, our season started three weeks early because of colder and more humid weather in the region. Because of this, the plants matured faster, though they weren’t really around the sizes we’d like to see; they…

New eco-design packaging liner reduces plastic by up to 30%

In the past years, the produce industry, alongside many other industries, has been focusing on the reduction and elimination of plastic in packaging. Simultaneously, there has been an awareness that plastic is also necessary to help ensure quality and shelf-life in perishable products, especially ones…

Strong demand internationally and domestically for pistachios

Domestic pistachio supplies are tracking to potentially close in on one billion lbs. this fall. Jim Zion of Meridian Growers LLC in Madera, CA says production has wrapped up in Arizona and yields are better than expected. “I was really happy about Arizona because the crop looks fantastic,” says Zion.…

The paths for consumer purchasing during the pandemic

This week, from September 28th through October 1st, the North American Blueberry Council and the United States Highbush Blueberry Council Conference and Expo is running virtually with nearly 900 participants, featuring 16 concurrent sessions and 4 keynote speakers. On the first day of the event, one of…

Mastronardi Produce to release new lettuce line: Queen of Greens™

It is a little-known fact that Mastronardi Produce, the company behind the world’s first branded tomato, actually has its roots in lettuce. In the 1940’s, when Armando…

US will greenlight import of pomelos from Vietnam

Vietnam resumed exports of fresh fruits to the US recently after an interruption since early August due to the pandemic. Because of the outbreak, APHIS personnel stationed in…

Bringing year-round local supply to Canada by lighting up greenhouses

Red Sun Farms, a North American greenhouse grower with locations in Canada, USA, and Mexico, are embracing technology by lighting up a high-tech greenhouse to bring a year-round supply from Canada. There are three distinct projects underway in support of year-round Ontario grown produce: First, a new state of…

Global contest launched for environmentally friendly solutions for pomegranate husks

The Wonderful Company announced the launch of the Wonderful Innovation Challenge. Offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators, the competition seeks to discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot ready solutions for the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks generated…

Chiquita stickers go pink for October's National Breast Cancer Awareness month

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Chiquita is giving its iconic Blue Sticker a pink makeover to match the Pink Ribbon - an international symbol for breast cancer awareness. For the fourth year in a row, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Chiquita’s…

Five new products added to Season & Steam convenience vegetable line

Ocean Mist Farms, a grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in North America, announced the launch of five new products in their award-winning Season & Steam convenience vegetable line. All five new items are among the top ten value-added vegetables to post growth in the past year according to a July…

Genetically redrawn San Marzano tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes have been genetically redrawn by a team of researchers from Enea, CREA, Polytechnic University of Valencia and Tuscia University to obtain new…

Mastronardi Produce to release new lettuce line: Queen of Greens™

It is a little-known fact that Mastronardi Produce, the company behind the world’s first branded tomato, actually has its roots in lettuce. In the 1940’s, when Armando…

Better understanding of button mushroom DNA published, to improve breeding

A research team of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) has made an important step in opening up possibilities to breed for innovative types of button mushrooms. For that,…

Five Panamanian packing plants allowed to export bananas to China

According to a statement from the Ministry of Agricultural Development, five Panamanian banana packaging companies have been authorized to export the fruit to China. The…

“From 5 to 75% fairtrade bananas in 10 years”

In 2007, Banafood Services GmbH opened a new, independent banana ripening facility in Germany. It’s just over the border from a Dutch cooperative in Venlo, the Netherlands. It's a new business, but it's one with second and third-generation banana sector co-shareholders. This German company has now…

Chiquita stickers go pink for October's National Breast Cancer Awareness month

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Chiquita is giving its iconic Blue Sticker a pink makeover to match the Pink Ribbon - an international symbol for breast cancer awareness. For the fourth year in a row, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Chiquita’s…

Growers Express promotes Kirk Wagner to Chief Operating Officer

Growers Express, LLC, a processor of frozen vegetable products and primary licensed partner of the Green Giant Fresh® brand announced that Kirk Wagner is promoted to Chief…

Bonduelle's Fresh Processed segment revenue drops by 6%

On September 25, 2020, the Supervisory Board, under the chairmanship of Martin Ducroquet, reviewed the statutory and consolidated financial statements for FY 2019 - 2020 as…

Bringing year-round local supply to Canada by lighting up greenhouses

Red Sun Farms, a North American greenhouse grower with locations in Canada, USA, and Mexico, are embracing technology by lighting up a high-tech greenhouse to bring a year-round supply from Canada. There are three distinct projects underway in support of year-round Ontario grown produce: First, a new state of…

International design award for fruit and vegetable packaging line Johannes

Last year AGF-Holland introduced the Johannes packaging line, a plastic-free packaging line for the entire fruit and vegetable department, with a line of baskets, trays and bands made of specially developed natural cardboard. Johannes Janssen already knew that this packaging met a need due to worldwide interest,…

USDA restricts PACA violators in multiple states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and…

Canada: BC Tree Fruits head office in Okanagan for sale

On September 24th, the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative confirmed the historic building currently serving as the cooperative’s head office, will be sold. According to the company…

Snapdragon™ apples are back - harvest season underway

SnapDragon™ apples are ripe for picking as harvest season is officially underway. Grown exclusively by Crunch Time Apple Growers, a New York State-based cooperative of 151…

Kissabel season kicks off with orange and yellow varieties

The new European Kissabel® apple season has begun. The project partners in the UK, France and Switzerland started harvesting two coloured-flesh varieties: Kissabel® Orange and Kissabel® Yellow. The first variety features skin with an orange/pink pigmentation, intense pink flesh and a strongly flavoured,…

Michigan cherry growers troubled by tough competition from overseas

They’re a treasured old-time sight in Michigan — cherries and the miles of orchards where they flourish Up North. Michigan is the nation’s top producer of tart cherries, for…

Oregon blueberry growers join investigating the influx of foreign berries

The Oregon Blueberry Commission has joined in an effort to slow the large increase in blueberry imports from southern countries. Last week, the commission voted to join…

Sharp rise in overseas fruit supply to the Netherlands in the first half of 2020

In 2020's first half, the Netherlands received 2.8% more goods by sea, in reefer containers, than at the same time last year. More fruit was delivered while the supply of vegetables and meat decreased. Total containerized goods arrivals by sea decreased by 1.6% over the period. That's evident from…

A biostimulant reduces water consumption in strawberry crops by 25-30%

This biostimulant improves the plants' ability to absorb and retain water, both in cases of scarcity and in optimal conditions. Strawberry field before applying Talete Strawberry field after applying Talete The photographs, taken on 05/18/2020, show that there is no difference between the areas irrigated at…

The paths for consumer purchasing during the pandemic

This week, from September 28th through October 1st, the North American Blueberry Council and the United States Highbush Blueberry Council Conference and Expo is running virtually with nearly 900 participants, featuring 16 concurrent sessions and 4 keynote speakers. On the first day of the event, one of…

Australian exporter preparing for another good quality apricot season

A leading Australian fresh produce export company plans to expand its international customer base for apricots this year, despite some challenges from COVID-19, which has impacted the industry. H2A Trading, based in Sydney, focuses on the global supply of fruit and vegetables from Australia, and Export…

More than 100 records of fresh produce fraud

Fraud with regard to fruit (and produce in general) is commonly related to labeling claims about production practices, production location or brand names. In some parts of the…

Icon Fruit brings together the best of two experienced stonefruit specialists

Icon Fruit is a new predominantly stonefruit export specialist, a joint venture between Cape Fresh Produce and the Unlimited Group. The new entity subsumes Fruits Unlimited, the latter’s export fruit marketing division, and brings together strong supplies of traditional stonefruit varieties with the…

Five new products added to Season & Steam convenience vegetable line

Ocean Mist Farms, a grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in North America, announced the launch of five new products in their award-winning Season & Steam convenience vegetable line. All five new items are among the top ten value-added vegetables to post growth in the past year according to a July…

CDC says salad Cyclospora outbreak over; FDA canal water investigation continues

A multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to salad products that were made by Fresh Express bagged salad and is under investigation is over, according to the…

New eco-design packaging liner reduces plastic by up to 30%

In the past years, the produce industry, alongside many other industries, has been focusing on the reduction and elimination of plastic in packaging. Simultaneously, there has been an awareness that plastic is also necessary to help ensure quality and shelf-life in perishable products, especially ones…

"Waste generated by pineapple cultivation is a major problem in Costa Rica"

In December of last year, we spoke with Niklas Tegtmeier, the head of a start-up that was created at the University of Hannover. At that time, paper was made from pineapple crowns under the name "Musa Fibra". In the meantime a lot has happened to the young team and they are now ready for the next step. © Upala…

Avozilla, the giant avocado, is also grown in Spain

The avocado, one of the world's most popular and demanded fruits, has an XXL version whose weight can exceed 1 kilo and which was brilliantly named Avozilla; a play on words…

Chilean scientists investigate the components of the avocado flower's aroma

The project seeks to develop artificial attractants for pollinatorsAn initiative of the INIA-FIA is committed to developing an artificial attractant to manage pollination and improve avocado cultivation. They are developing a synthetic floral bouquet, which simulates the aroma of the avocado flower and…

High demand for Peruvian onions this season

It has been an unusual onion season this year in Peru. Roberto Monge of KeyPeru shares: “To begin, our season started three weeks early because of colder and more humid weather in the region. Because of this, the plants matured faster, though they weren’t really around the sizes we’d like to see; they…

North Carolina research to save sweet potato farmers tons of money

North Carolina researchers have determined a post-harvest treatment that significantly reduces crop loss due to internal necrosis in Covington sweet potatoes. As about 90% of…

Red hot potato market could spell trouble for farmers in India

Potato prices in India started rising in December 2019 due to the delay in harvesting the early rabi crop (Figure 1). Although they fell a bit in February and March with the arrival of the new harvest, they have remained at higher than average prices during the same period in previous years due to less…

"The Spanish transport sector finds return loads increasingly challenging "

In February 2020, Dutchman, Jurgen Sinnaeve, joined Transdonat. This is a Spanish family business. It has been active in that country's fruit and vegetable transport sector for 60 years already. "We transport mainly fruit and vegetables to several European countries. There are a few important ones. They…

Helping people discover mushrooms

There’s still much to be learned about edible mushrooms. Nowadays, specialized traders can offer 70 varieties of cultivated and wild mushroom varieties throughout the year. Market demand is, however, limited to only a few kinds. For Leon van Basten, telling end-users and interested parties - chefs, rising…

“Oyster mushrooms, the steak of mushrooms, and grown on coffee grounds”

One of the challenges the mushroom sector will face in the future is raw material availability. That’s used in the compost these products grow on and is a vital link in mushrooms’ circular cultivation. The Amsterdam-based company, GRO, has found a solution for oyster mushrooms, at least. Coffee grounds.…

China becomes Russia's biggest fresh produce market

Data from the Agricultural Export Center of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture show that as of September 20, Russia exported 2.67 billion US dollars worth of produce to…

More New Zealanders set to have access to premium herbs thanks to new online and delivery service

New Zealand's coronavirus restrictions have led to one of the country's leading herb producers to make their range available to more consumers, through the creation of an online store. Superb Herb Sales and Marketing Manager Brigitte Hannett says they can courier all herbs nationwide overnight, and so…

United Fresh announces slate of new programming

United Fresh has announced its slate of new programming taking place this fall on the LIVE! 365 platform. United Fresh LIVE! 365 is the industry’s year-round community…

US will greenlight import of pomelos from Vietnam

Vietnam resumed exports of fresh fruits to the US recently after an interruption since early August due to the pandemic. Because of the outbreak, APHIS personnel stationed in…

South African citrus industry wants to expand markets

Apart from the 2-million tonnes of citrus expected to be exported in 2020 by the South African citrus industry, a further 500,000 tonnes is forecast for the next three to five…

Sicilian ginger will soon be headed for European markets

"Intrigued by the health benefits of ginger, we have started a research in the nutraceutical and business field on this very interesting product. It was found that the rhizome of ginger has a myriad of beneficial effects of which, in some countries, are adjuvants in traditional medicine. We have…

Essential oils could keep pests, disease from organic crops

With U.S. organic food sales topping $50 billion in 2018, statistics from the Organic Trade Association indicate that fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops combined make up 36.3 percent of total organic sales, up 5.6 percent from 2017. In order to meet consumer demand, farmers may need to use…

Antioxidant found in apples and grape seeds to increase hair growth

According to numerous studies, a compound found in apples and grape seeds has presented impressive results and could be the answer you have been searching for. One of the…

Tired of repetitive, soul-crushing work? "RPA offers a solution"

Following the success of Thysia's last webinar in June, the company decided to do it all again with a new webinar on robotic process automation. What is that exactly? Luc Meijs…

Global contest launched for environmentally friendly solutions for pomegranate husks

The Wonderful Company announced the launch of the Wonderful Innovation Challenge. Offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators, the competition seeks to discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot ready solutions for the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks generated…

"Optimal sealing during the distribution process saves a lot of energy"

Energy losses and, therefore, high costs are an all-too-common occurrence in the refrigeration and frozen goods sector. Thousands of euros' worth of energy are lost every day. That's during loading and unloading, as well as the opening and closing of indoor cold stores. That's shameful and entirely…

Strong demand internationally and domestically for pistachios

Domestic pistachio supplies are tracking to potentially close in on one billion lbs. this fall. Jim Zion of Meridian Growers LLC in Madera, CA says production has wrapped up in Arizona and yields are better than expected. “I was really happy about Arizona because the crop looks fantastic,” says Zion.…

Onion curing could be a concern for Pacific Northwest growers following fires

“It was like a campfire in your face. That’s what it made you feel like.” These are just some of the conditions growers in the Pacific Northwest have been dealing with following drifting smoke from wildfires that have been taking place throughout not only California but Washington and Oregon. “Last week,…

Kroger and Ocado: Location of Customer Fulfillment Center announced

US: Kenny Family Stores of Delaware launch new food product competition & web series 'Aisle Trials'Kenny Family Stores of Delaware announces the launch of their new competition and web series, Aisle Trials. Local businesses in the Delaware area are invited to submit their food products to Aisle Trials…

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