The Texas International Produce Association is expanding their career networking program, Encouraging Discovery & Growth in Education.

EDGE is the next step of the original Aggies for Fresh program launched in 2017. The program is designed to offer students information, exposure and connections to help them identify career paths and hire-ready roles in the fresh produce industry.

This networking and career exploration program highlights internships and immediate job openings in the region’s fresh produce industry. This year, the program participants include universities throughout Texas such

In the spirit of Carnival season, Winn-Dixie is honoring its long-standing heritage in the Louisiana community by celebrating traditions locals know and love. With nearly 67 years of experience serving the state’s diverse communities, Winn-Dixie is committed to commemorating Louisiana’s rich history and time-honored traditions with delicious food, local celebrations and of course by taking part in the biggest celebration of the year, Mardi Gras.

“At Winn-Dixie, we are excited to join the Carnival revelry with our local communities again this year," said Lynn Rushing, regional vice president

The Ugly Co., a farmer-led producer of upcycled dried fruit snacks, completed a $9 million Series A round of funding. The Ugly Co. will use the funds to expand its processing capacity to meet surging demand while accelerating expansion nationwide.

The funding round was led by Sun Valley Packing, a Reedley, CA-based fruit grower and distributor, and Texas-based Value Creation Strategies. Musician Justin Timberlake and Valley Ag Capital Holdings also participated in the round. Founder Ben Moore said he is proud that the majority of the company's funding was sourced locally from the San Joaquin

Hy-Vee Inc. awarded $50,000 to local minority- and women-owned businesses during the Hy-Vee OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit at U.S. Bank Stadium. The event was the third summit Hy-Vee has hosted in support of underrepresented groups to provide these business owners with access to funding and valuable business development resources.

These summits are part of Hy-Vee’s ongoing commitment to diversifying its supplier base and product offerings, as well as supporting minority communities across its eight-state territory.

During the pitch competition portion of the event, 15 companies from

Americans believe that grocery retailers are earning a 35.2 percent net profit margin, more than 10 times higher than grocers’ actual net profit margin average of 2.5 percent, and that food-at-home inflation is 24.3 percent, double the annual rate reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the latest dunnhumby Consumer Trends Tracker. The CTT is part of the dunnhumby Quarterly, a strategic market analysis of key retail themes, with the third edition being focused on navigating uncertainty.

In the third wave of the CTT, dunnhumby also found that despite perceived inflation

When the FDA released the Final Rule on FSMA Section 204 in November, one of the biggest changes was the addition of the requirement to capture and record Critical Tracking Events or CTE’s. The FDA defines a “Critical Tracking Event to mean an event in the supply chain of a food involving the harvesting, cooling (before initial packing), initial packing of a RAC other than a food obtained from a fishing vessel... shipping, receiving or transformation of the food.”

Each of these were defined in my last blog. Here we will explore the Key Data Elements associated with each of the Critical