Distribution

Online grocery start-ups such as Jumbotail, BigBasket, ShopKirana, among others, are doubling down on farm-to-plate sourcing models with a significant spike in demand for fresh produce. Free movement of goods continues to be a challenge for medium and large farmers and fast moving consumer goods brands…

Nothing says “summer” like a fresh tomato. And thanks to trade, tomatoes aren’t just a seasonal treat for Americans. A trade policy battle, however, over our favorite little red vegetable that had simmered on the back burner for decades recently heated up again and might have threatened our ability to…

Fruit is a naturally nutritious food. Fruit has many of the vitamins that humans need to stay alive and healthy. China is the largest fruit producer in the world in terms of surface area devoted to fruit plantation, and the third-largest in terms of production volume. However, fruit is seasonal and…

Forwarders, shippers, and importers have long complained about unreasonable demurrage & detention charges. However, the issue has ballooned in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic is heavily distorting cargo flows. The combination of blanked sailings due to a lack of critical mass of cargo, and…

Legislators, exporters, and importers are debating the impact that the United States' intention to restrict imports of Mexican agricultural products could have, as this measure could even lead to a trade war. In a second hearing organized on Thursday, August 20 by the administration of President Donald…

Cape Breton Food Hub to expand links between food producers and consumers

PARAMUS, NJ — H-Mart, a Korean grocery chain that was founded in New York in 1982, has ambitious expansion plans and is looking to make deals directly with growers to supply the dozens of stores it operates nationwide.

Gi Moon, who works in the procurement department for Lyndhurst, NJ-based H-Mart, met with The Produce News Aug. 14 at the chain’s location, here, to discuss the shift in its buying practices, which heretofore have focused on the use of brokers and distributors.

“We have plans to open four to five new stores per year, and along with that we are interested in making deals directly with growers as a way to get the freshest, best quality product at the best price,” he said.

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For example, Moon said he has been recently working with ProComer, the export promotion agency for Costa Rica, to procure various products from that Central American nation. He hopes to connect with other similar organizations and directly with growers in the United States and abroad to help satisfy the demand by H-Mart shoppers for top-quality fruits and vegetables.

People often send, for example, broccoli from the Netherlands to Spain. Then they scoop a decent amount of ice over its crate. That's to keep the broccoli in optimal condition. That, however, has a drawback. Things become a mess on arrival. There are puddles of water under all the pallets. Hygiene is…

Imported fruit and vegetables are still the foodstuff with the most non-compliances. This was shown in the latest round of testing by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). As food safety statistics from January to June show, 396 of 3,177 consignments of fruits and vegetables failed. A total of 87.5 percent of…

When it comes to secondary packaging and transport packaging, people nowadays often think of hinged crates as used in the common pool systems. Nevertheless even rigid fruit and vegetable crates still have a right to exist, says Gerold Wilms from bekuplast. "This type of crate has been around for 25…

For over 40 years ,TBV Kühlfahrzeuge LLC has been an established manufacturer and dealer of refrigerated transport units for the food industry. The main sales area has always been southern Germany, but thanks to an extensive network of national and international partners, the innovative solutions are now…

Germany’s Edeka Group is offering citrus and avocados treated by Apeel Science’s plant-derived technology in more than 11,000 Edeka and Netto stores throughout Germany.

A pilot test this year of Apeel’s technology in about 2,900 Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount stores resulted in a 50% reduction in wasted avocados and greater consumer satisfaction, according to a news release.

The release said Edeka and Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Apeel plan to introduce additional items, subject to approval by European Union authorities.

“With the nationwide launch of Apeel in our stores, we are reaching a new milestone in our goal of reducing food waste and the use of plastic packaging step-by-step,” E Mosa, CEO of Hamburg-based Edeka AG,  said in the release.  “We also support our shoppers to make an active contribution themselves to prevent valuable food in the household from ending up in the garbage bin.”

The pilot with Apeel was conducted in the first half of the year. Avocados from Chile and Peru were treated with Apeel’s plant-based solution. Over a period of twelve weeks, shrink and food loss, sales and turnover values were tracked, according to the release.

When compared with avocados from a control group, Apeel treated avocados had half the waste. Stores with the Apeel program saw a 20% growth in avocado sales, with fewer avocados lost to spoilage and increased customer demand.

With global supply chains being threatened by a combination of extreme climate events and transport restrictions, it is increasingly important to tackle the global problem of wasted food. Most of this waste occurs in our homes. People buy food, presumably with the intention of eating it, but end up…

US: Whole Foods launches free virtual home economics classesAs part of its new brand design rollout for its 365 by Whole Foods Market private label, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods is launching Home Ec 365, a digital curriculum that updates the fundamentals of home economics while putting a modern twist…

The "10th Global Cold Supply Chain Summit" took place in Shanghai on the 6th of August, 2020. The summit was attended by JD Distribution, Carrier, Haier, and Thermo King, as well as distribution associations from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Korea. The participants enthusiastically discussed…

Walmart is partnering with grocery delivery platform Instacart in yet another bid to rival Amazon and its growing offline network of Whole Foods stores and same- and one-day Prime delivery. The partnership, first reported on Tuesday by CNBC, means Walmart customers in four pilot markets spanning California and Oklahoma can now choose Walmart’s grocery options when putting together an Instacart order.

Instacart already works with major grocery chains like Albertsons, Aldi, Costco, Kroger, and Target, as well as smaller chain stores like Wegmans and pharmacies like CVS. The platform also has an existing partnership with Walmart-owned Sam’s Club that will remain intact. The addition of Walmart — Amazon’s primary rival that has been working...

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The Giumarra Companies recently completed a test flight shipment to deliver peaches grown in the San Joaquin Valley to Southern California-based grocery retailer Gelson’s. The test included Cessna aircraft loaded with freshly harvested Henry III variety peaches at Reedley Municipal Airport on the morning…

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there are now 239 confirmed cases of salmonella infections linked to red onions imported from the United States.

Policies barring food trucks from operating on city-owned land in downtown Nelson, B.C., and at the local farmers market introduced this year are of great concern for the owner of a food truck in the southern Interior city.

“Bananas wouldn’t be available on store shelves around the world if it wasn’t for the pre-conditioning and ripening process via ethylene application,” says Greg Akins, President and CEO of Catalytic Generators. “The same holds true for nearly all mature field-grown tomatoes purchased in grocery stores.”…

In Singapore, five importers were fined a total of $28,000 for bringing in food products that did not conform to import permit requirements. This was made clear by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a statement on Wednesday. The agency said that its officers had detected 2,565 kg of undeclared and…

Truck Route Planner to optimize travel patterns for Metro Vancouver truck operators.

TransLink and the Government of British Columbia are releasing the Truck Route Planner, an online tool to help commercial vehicle operators plan their trips. This tool is the first of its kind in Canada to plan truck routes with a holistic picture of the region’s commercial vehicle network.

In early July, farmer Jeremy Storey dropped off an order of eggs at a restaurant's back door as planned and continued on his way.

Yinchuan, the capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, since June there have been installed many fruit and vegetable vending machines. Yinchuan is one of China's pilot ‘smart cities’, trying to effectively apply technologies in city administration, public security, transportation,…

US: GrubMarket now major supplier of California cherriesGrubMarket, which delivers mainly local and organic groceries to businesses and consumers, has completed the acquisitions of Growers Produce Inc. and Cali Fresh Produce Inc., 2 produce wholesale companies with established customer bases across both…

This week, various parties in Rotterdam will be launching a new pilot project, in which containers are handled and released without a PIN code: a widely used verification method in this transport segment. The project revolves around a new application, Secure Container Release, which replaces the PIN code…

Back in 2002, Global Fruit was established to support BC cherry growers in marketing their cherries to markets around the world. Since then, the company as well as the growers and packers it represents, have grown exponentially. “This year, Global Fruit is proud to be working with six packing houses and…

Amazon plans to open more grocery stores across U.S., including ones in Seattle and RedmondAmazon is preparing to open its second automated-checkout grocery store on the Eastside and is hiring managers for a third store in the nation’s capitol. The commerce giant’s grocery strategy is also advancing on…

Uber will acquire food delivery service Postmates in a $2.65 billion all-stock deal intended to give the ride-hail company a much-need jolt after its offer to buy Grubhub fell apart amid antitrust scrutiny.

The University of Idaho has released three new videos on potato bruise management. Each video is three to four minutes long and covers basic machinery operating principles: Moving Potatoes from Truck to Piler Best Practices for Piling Potatoes Unloading Potatoes Out of Storage For more information:Idaho Potato CommissionTel: +1 (208) 334-2350 www.idahopotato.com