Do not reply to this email. Send your response to info@freshplaza.com.

Thursday, April 8, 2021
NORTH AMERICA

Our team

Marieke Hemmes
Email

Annika Durinck
Email

Astrid van den Broek
Email

Sander Bruins Slot
Email

Job Offers

Independent Sales & Business Development Representative, USA

Experienced Tomato Grower, North America

Breeder - Xiamen, China

Senior Scientist, Plant Imaging - Brooklyn (NY) USA

Scientist, Plant Substrates and Nutrition - Brooklyn (NY) USA

Logistics Coordinator

Head of Delivery and Support - Bristol, UK

Sales Manager (Fruit & Vegetable) - Erkelenz, Germany

Crop Inspector - San Jose (CA) USA

Assistant Grower - Snowflake (AZ) USA

How produce performed at retail stores throughout the pandemic to date

SEPC Southern Exposure’s annual Power of Produce presentation

After being postponed from its usual February date, SEPC Southern Exposure 2021 kicked off this week. Yesterday featured the annual Power of Produce educational session, where…

Shortage of snacking tomatoes and abundance of round tomatoes in North America

Coming out of the winter season, supplies of tomatoes are ample. “We’ve seen an abundance of larger round tomatoes--beefsteak, tomatoes on the vine (TOV) and that’s been the…

PMA virtual town hall

Overview of technologies that help fighting food waste

This week’s PMA virtual town hall focused on technologies that work to reduce food waste. Ed Tracy, PMA’s Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustainability, explains: “More…

US officials must hustle to save organic trade relationship with Mexico in time

New Mexican regulations threaten to disrupt more than $100 million in organic food trade with the US. All in all, the Biden administration has less than three…

500,000 sq. ft.

US: Expansion amidst the pandemic for aquaponic grower

Springworks today announced plans to add 500,000 additional square feet of greenhouse space. The sizeable expansion will sustainably serve the Maine farm’s…

New Jersey peach growers optimistic after strong dormant season

After an excellent winter and early spring with mild/ cold temperatures and abundant rainfall and snow, New Jersey peach growers anticipate an excellent crop of peach flowers,…

Avocado grower/shipper releases inaugural environmental and social report

Mission Produce, Inc., producer and distributer of fresh Hass avocados, announced yesterday the release of its inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report,…

Grower referendum affirms continuation of California Avocado Commission

The California Department of Food and Agriculture recently completed a state-mandated referendum vote that determined the California Avocado Commission is…

Referring to recurring nature of E. coli

FDA warns all California Central Coast entities involved in leafy green production

On April 6, the Food and Drug Administration fired an unmistakable warning shot at the leafy greens industry. Hopefully, this will be a call to action that…

Technavio

Technavio: Organic banana market to grow by USD 252 Million from 2021-2025

The organic banana market is expected to grow by USD 252.00 million during 2021-2025, according to Technavio. The report offers a detailed analysis of the impact of the…

Global Focus Machinery/Packaging

Agros and Aweta: a 19-year partnership to add value for consumers

"High technology is very important to Agros´s processes to deliver high quality produce to our customers. From our greenhouses to the packing process, we have…

Special South Africa

Wet summer affects kiwifruit export volumes

South Africa is not particularly known for its kiwifruit production but for the last 6-7 years a group of growers has been cultivating gold kiwifruit varieties in the country.…

Retail

Target, Instacart and Amazon rank high for online shopping

Whole Foods Market turns spotlight on responsible sourcingWhole Foods Market is making responsible sourcing stand out at the shelf. The Amazon-owned specialty grocer on…

Chilton County, Alabama

Peaches doing okay, despite frost

Recent frost seems to have caused minimal damage to this year’s peach crop. Strawberries are also safe thanks to row crop coverings. Edgar Vinson, fruit…

South Carolina Department of Agriculture

South Carolina farmers excited for 2021 growing season

After a difficult year, South Carolinians can look forward to the simple pleasures of juicy red strawberries, sweet watermelons, refreshing cucumbers, ripe…

Provides update for Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2021

Lamb Weston reports Fiscal Third Quarter 2021 Results

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. today announced its third quarter fiscal 2021 results and provided a business update for the fourth quarter fiscal 2021. “We…

The scenario in the north of Italy

From Piedmont to Tuscany, heavy losses of stone fruit and damages to kiwi and pome fruits

The low temperatures in the north of Italy are causing increasing concern. Below is a partial statement of damage, for each region. PiedmontIn the Monregalese area, in the…

Saent - new asparagus for the lovers of distinctive flavors

The Saent asparagus variety, recently introduced by seed company Lamboseeds, is gaining popularity thanks to its unique organoleptic properties. This selection is rather early…

Temperatures well below freezing

Alarm for apple and cherry trees in Trentino

In the Italian Val di Non valley, in Trentino, temperatures were below zero on the morning of 7 April 2021, marking -7 °C in the coldest areas and -4 °C in the middle valley.…

How the New Zealand agriculture industry is preparing to enter the "golden age" of robotics

The horticulture and agritech industries are at the start of the golden age of robotics and automation, according to a leading New Zealand-based company. Rocos provides the…

First Rockit™ apples of the season arrive in China

The first shipment of small, sweet Rockit™ apples has arrived in China, marking the beginning of what is very likely to be the company’s biggest season yet.The New Zealand…

Chinese growers already produce around $1 billion worth of SunGolds without permission

Zespri considers putting sticker on counterfeit SunGold fruit

As the ‘single desk marketer’, Zespri owns the rights to SunGold, which means all growers must sell their fruit to the company for marketing and export. The…

Blue Java bananas are trending

Grown mostly in Southeast Asia and Hawaii, Blue Java Bananas are increasingly popular. Bananas are popular world-over for being extremely nutritious. Still, a new variety of bananas…

China Agricultural University & Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo

Artificial intelligence victorious in Chinese fruit growing competition

Experts in artificial intelligence have beaten some of the world's best strawberry growers in a Chinese competition to see who could grow the most fruit. Three…

Peruvian banana shipments exceeded 25.6 million dollars in the first two months of 2021

According to the data provided by the Agrodata Peru website, Peru exported 36,414,873 kilos of bananas for a FOB value of 25,684,995 dollars between January…

Henk van der Meij, Hars & Hagebauer, the Netherlands

"Peru and the Ivory Coast to connect well on mango market"

Hars & Hagebauer's first mangos from the Ivory Coast were loaded last night. These should arrive in the Netherlands in week 16. "Many shippers are expecting to send fewer…

Industrial scale 3D food production to start in 2022

Gastronology - refined gastronomy, 3D technology linked to create 3D food solutions with fresh ingredients

For some people, dinner is a tasteless, albeit practical, affair. Older people and those with dysphagia, who battle to swallow, often have blended foods. This aids in…

Chemical savings up to 78%. Video below

Video Electric robot for a precise weed control

Over the past few months, the Swiss company Ecorobotix has developed an electric-powered robot, powered by photovoltaics. The additional novelty lies in the fact that it is a…

Ilerfred incorporates Madurfresh into its ISYCAD program

New management software for avocado ripening chambers

The ISYCAD industrial cold control management program allows controlling in real-time all the parameters of the cold and controlled atmosphere systems. The…

Companies take action towards living wages

IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative has announced with global companies Aldi Nord, Aldi Sud, Eosta, Fyffes, Fairphone, L’Oréal, Schijvens, Superunie, Taylors…

Egyptian and Sudanese parties extremely frustrated

Ten years of Ethiopian dam negotiations unsuccessful

In the past ten years, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have held ongoing talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that is being constructed by the…

FreshPlaza Funny

Motor sounds