It’s no secret that 2020 has seen a lot of changes, especially people’s buying habits at the grocery store. Consumers are cautious of germs, and rightly so. Despite no current evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 by food, people are concerned about buying loose fruits and vegetables.

This is where packaging comes into play in a positive way: it protects the produce and acts as an extra safety measure against contamination. Canadian-based grower-shipper-packer Thomas Fresh is in tune with these evolving consumer needs and has recently launched a unique line of pre-packaged two-pack

ShopRite is expanding and rebranding its award-winning Wholesome Pantry and Wholesome Pantry Organic product lines that are available at all of its stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania. More than 100 newly branded items, including organic fruits and vegetables and packaged salads, will arrive on store shelves beginning early October.

Wholesome Pantry products will also be available at Fresh Grocer stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer are supermarket banners of Wakefern Food Corp., one of the largest retailer-owned

The Giumarra Cos. announced a joint project with Mountain View, CA-based startup Reliable Robotics Corporation to test shipments of produce utilizing autonomous aircraft technology developed by the latter company. The test flight program, created to help address supply chain and delivery challenges within the fresh produce industry, had its successful inaugural flight on Aug. 7.

“To call this project groundbreaking is an understatement. We believe autonomous aircraft will transform the future of the fresh produce industry,” said Tim Riley, president of the Giumarra Cos. “This test proved that

In the spring, Volm Cos. Inc., indicated to The Produce News that it was matching consumer demand by supplying new types of packaging materials that are environmentally sustainable.

Then the gravity of the Coronavirus pandemic overtook the nation.

“While there may have been a short break in conversations regarding the sustainability of packaging this spring, the topic has certainly resurfaced with our customers,” Marsha Pozza indicated this September. “That break was largely due to the shift in priority to meet the increased demand for traditional fresh produce packaging. Pre-Covid

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 failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

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

• Poblano Fresh Produce Corp., operating out of Los Angeles, for failing to pay a $230,918 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Eliborio Ramirez was listed as the officer

Fruit World, a family-owned, flavor-focused grower-shipper of organic and conventional fruit, enters its 2020 citrus season with bold, new recyclable packaging and increased availability of 100-percent California-grown organic and conventional mandarins, along with organic oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and sweet limes.

"We’re really excited about our new fun and colorful conventional mandarin packaging design, especially because it’s fully-recyclable," said Bianca Kaprielian, Fruit World co-founder and chief executive officer. "We love the extension of the Fruit World brand, and how these bags