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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Looking Forward to United Fresh 2010
With the global economy weighing heavy on everyone's minds and a separation of the United Fresh Show from the Grocery Manufacturers Association, I think some attendees at Fresh Marketplace and FreshTech were expecting a smaller, less expansive show. But the show had a record 4,000 attendees and more educational and networking events than ever before.
Many exhibitors mentioned the number of upper-level managers at the show, and all reported making good contacts. In spite of an unsure economy right now, nearly all the exhibitors surveyed said they would see sales from the show and were sure to return next year. The first day of the trade expo was three hours, with the last hour featuring free drinks. That helped create a sense of urgency and made for great networking opportunities. As one attendee put it, "Happy hour was the best thing to happen to the United Fresh show."
The educational events featured prominent business people and respected produce industry professionals that provided insights into the economy, upcoming legislation and management, as well as practical issues like modified atmosphere, consumer perceptions and maintaining quality.
The show also featured a conference for the entire supply chain that is a step toward reducing the number of audits companies have to take part in by developing a global standard for food safety. Processors and other handlers spend days at a time working with first-, second- or third-party auditors, even though 85-95 percent of the audit material is the same. With the work of the United Fresh technical committee and global standards owners, interchangeable and respected certifications based on the Global Food Safety Initiative should help reduce the time companies spend on audits. Most certification boards already are authorized to audit the various standards, or are in the process of gaining authorization for the different standards.
The 2010 United Fresh Show is scheduled for the Sands Mega Center in Las Vegas and will feature extended hours on Wednesday and Thursday, with no hours on Friday. Attendees can expect the same level of educational sessions and learning centers on the trade show floor.
Fresh Cut will be on hand again next year - booth 720 on the FreshTech side - and we look forward to seeing you there.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Global Standards Owners
The second day of the Global Food Safety Standards Conterence kicked off the postharvest track with presentation from three standards owners. Kathy Wybourn, director of food safety systems for DMV North America presented the International Food Standards; John Kukoly, senior technical marketing consultant for BRC, presented the British Retail Consortium's Global Standards, and Gary Smith, technical director with the Safe Quality Food Institute, presented SQF-2000.
Each global standard has the foundation of the Global Food Safety Initiative, so although they go about developing their standards differently, they would eliminat the need for multiple audits. Simply put, they're eqivalent audits, Smith said.
There was some confusion from attendees about what role a standards board plays. The standards board owns the standard and then works with ANSI to authorize certification boards to conduct audits to the standards boards' audits. So a company like Silliker or AIB will be certified that its auditors can conduct audits to the guidelines developed by the standards board.
It's a comple issue, but each board provides a system of measure for food safety and quality in a plant. The second section set to begin soon deals with facility audit programs, with presentations from SCS, AIB, ASI, Steritech and NSF Davis Fresh.
Global Food Safety Standards
The Global Food Safety Standards Conference kicked off Friday afternoon following the close of United FreshTech and Marketplace. The opening sessions, with presenters from FDA, food manufacturers with a stake in safe produce and other industry leaders, was held in a packed room at the Venetian Hotel.
Many produce shippers and processors recognized the need for a consistent measure for maintaining food safety in the U.S. The conference is sponsored by two of those companies - Dole and Chiquita/Fresh Express.
Mitch Smith, director of U.S. quality systems, ag products, for McDonald's, said there were four goals his company would like to come out of a global standards effort.
1. A common base of standards so the result would be the same no matter who conducts the audit.
2. The audit should be applicable and acceptable to all end users, whether it's a grocery store or restaurant.
3. Confidence in audits by having a means of calibrating auditors.
4. It should be federally mandated to ensure compliance.
Saturday's program breaks out postharvest and pre-farm sessions. Breakout sessions in the afternoon will allow attendees to provide input and feedback. Those sessions will be documented so the ideas and opinions can be used moving forward with a global food safety standard.
Friday, April 24, 2009
UFPA Poster Winner
Sunny Luo was the announced as the winner of the United Fresh poster competition.
Out of 16, Luo's research on developing science-based approaches to reduce produce safety risks at the processor and consumer level. She doesn't want her research to remain in the lab, but is looking for companies to put it into practice and develop new machinery and practices that reduce food safety risks.
"I'm looking for some companies to take my research to the next level," she said.
Luo is with USDA Agricultural Research Service and is on the editorial board of Fresh Cut.
Trade Show Wraps Up
The United Fresh Marketplace and FreshTech came to a close at noon in Las Vegas. From all accounts it was a successful show, with many attendees mentioning the number of decision makers that were at the show.
Next year's show will be held in the same expo center, but the hours may be extended during a two day expo rather than three.
The Global Conference on Food Safety Standards kicked off at 1:20, with Tom Lovelace, UFPA outgoing chairman welcoming a packed room at the Venetian meeting room.
Religious Requirements for Processing
Garry Smith, chairman of Webber/Smith Associates Design Engineering and Architecture, built a new fresh-cut plant for a processor in Pennsylvania that came online last year. The plant serves customers in New York and is a Kosher facility processing lettuce.
Under Kosher guidelines, a rabbi has to be on-site to bless the food, and Smith said if he finds one aphid he'll reject the entire lot. Often more than one rabbi is in the plant, ensuring everything is clean. One Kosher plant he worked with had a dormitory for 20 rabbis, who would rotate out every couple of weeks.
Smith said he's working with a Muslim chicken processor now on a new plant, and there are religious requirements there, too. The person killing the chicken has to be facing Mecca, for one.
Working with a new customer may mean doing research on more than their products. If the food being prepared is for a religious group, there could be additional requirements on space or design that you wouldn't find in a conventional plant. Understanding your customers' needs is key to designing the right facility.
Weighpack Machines
Weighpack was showing a new weighing piece that has a feature electricians will like. Weighpack has moved the panels off the machine onto a wheeled cart. That allows maintenance personnel and electricians to move the panel out of the way. It's also benefit for the sanitation crew, because they can move it out of the way to clean below.
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