Troubled situations always come in groups and it seems to intrude on the produce scene once too often. Nature controls weather and usually accounts for the majority of disruptions in the produce business. Currently, we are experiencing some lighter than normal product delays and volume shortages. These categories will recover soon. In the meantime, make sure your suppliers can cover your needs before committing to an ad promotion.

California Strawberries — The growers are experiencing very high humidity and heat stress causing tired plants. There are quality issues such as bruising, softness

Mann Packing Company is proud to announce that it has officially completed the final stages of its integration as the vegetable division of Fresh Del Monte Produce, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated producers, distributors, and marketers of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. 

The final step as part of the 2018 acquisition includes the complete fusion of all teams, including sales, sales support, finance, logistics, sustainability/quality control, marketing and innovation – all of which fall under the Fresh Del Monte network. 

Alongside Fresh Del Monte’s President and

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Stonehedge Produce

Instacart launched a new collection of inspirational shopping content and experiences across the Instacart App. Oriented around discovery, these experiences are brought to life with the launch of “The World is Your Cart,” Instacart’s newest creative system featuring GRAMMY Award-winning singer, rapper, flutist and entrepreneur Lizzo.

“The World is Your Cart,” coupled with a suite of new product features, ushers in a new era of shopping inspiration by celebrating the promise that with Instacart, everyday moments and scenarios can turn into new worlds of possibility. These new in-app

PickTrace has been selected as the Labor Management Solution of the Year in the 2022 AgTech Breakthrough Awards conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, which recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global agricultural and food technology markets today.

PickTrace enables organizations to rapidly hire and re-hire their workforce by digitizing the I-9 and W-4 document completion and storage process, removing the need for paper onboarding packets and manual data entry of employee details into payroll systems.

PickTrace’s labor management suite offers real-time performance

Food costs continue to rise — both eating at home and eating out — and many consumers are desperate to figure out ways to save during these less-than-optimal times. To offset these rising food costs, consumers are bargain hunting when grocery shopping, eating more meals at home and cutting back on restaurant visits, according to Information Resources Inc. and The NPD Group. The two recently merged to create a leading global technology, analytics and data provider.

According to the report, while inflation is more moderate for food away from home (7.6 percent versus a year ago) compared to food