Supplying Quality Cantaloupe for Fresh-cut Processing

Fresh Cut
January 2000

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Providing safe, tasty fresh-cut cantaloupe for grocery stores or restaurants is a process that begins down on the farm, according to Steve Martori. Thanks to technology developed at Martori Farms, as well as new hybrid cantaloupe varieties, Martori is better able to supply the kind of high quality melons fresh-cut processors need to keep their customers happy.

"We use varieties where the first criteria are the internal characteristics: taste, sugar levels and meat content," Martori explains. "You want a small seed cavity as opposed to a large cavity so it increases the yield to the processor."

Founded 60 years ago by Steve’s uncles, Martori Farms was an outgrowth of a produce wholesale operation founded around the turn of the last century by his grandfather, Peter Martori. In the 1930s, the family patriarch sent his two eldest sons to the West to source fresh produce and, by the end of that decade, a full-blown growing and shipping operation had been born.

Steve’s career with the family operation has spanned 30 years and he’s witnessed many changes, but the most dramatic of those have taken place only in the last five or six years, especially as fresh-cut has "exploded."

Significant Business
"We do a significant business with some very large fresh-cut users," he explains. "About five or six years ago, we started researching and developing the technology for fresh-cut and determining what type of melons and procedures are best to create product with the longest possible shelf life. We created an environment where we could provide fresh-cut at the source and distribute it across a broad region, at least half the United States.

"Through our experience with fresh-cut, we learned a lot about sanitation and bacteria levels. It changed the way we sanitize our fruit today."

Martori melons are packed into bins destined for processing operations or into cartons for other customers. The company has installed automatic bin-filling equipment because large processing operations have found they can save labor by emptying bigger containers at the receiving end.

To enhance shelf life, all shed-packed melons harvested for Martori Farms are washed and scrubbed in a multi-step process before packing.

"We take field debris and residues off the melons," Martori explains. "The netting on the cantaloupe serves as a refuge for bacteria, therefore, it is important to use a brushing action when washing them. The biggest enemy to shelf life, we found, is bacteria and the development of molds and yeasts. To maintain the flavor and shelf life of melons, you have to control bacterial levels."

Ripeness Is Crucial
Fresh-cut cantaloupe quality also depends upon ripeness and sugar content and Martori Farms has developed additional technology to help assure that melons arrive at processing plants at just the right stage.

"We use color sorting and infrared sorting in combination," Steve explains. "The greener the melon is, the less ripe it is. Color sorting counts pixels, so we have a non-invasive method that electronically sorts melons, telling us the color. Then we combine those results with infrared sorting, which gives us the density or consistency of the melon internally. Correlating the two indicates the level of Brix.

"For shelf life we’ve found 10 percent to 13 percent is the best range. Many regional processors who receive the product, cut it that night and have it in stores the next day receive the added benefit of an extended shelf life," Martori explains. "In general, though, consumers call 10 percent Brix a sweet melon. At 9 percent, generally it will be acceptable, but there’s no ‘wow,’ no real strong response.

"When you get to 11, 12 and 13 percent, that’s when they say, ‘What a fabulous melon!’ Above 13 percent, some people continue to look at it positively, but you’ll start getting some negative comments such as ‘too sweet.’ Others will say it has kind of a fermenting taste to it. I’d say the majority of people like real high Brix, but you will have some negative comments. In that center range of 10 percent to 13 percent, everybody seems to like it. In general, consumers also like a melon that is firm, but not crunchy."

Hybrids Boost Quality
Until recently, maintaining the flavor and texture consumers prefer in cantaloupes was more difficult during off-season months when Martori Farms imports melons from Mexico or Central America to supply customers. New hybrid varieties of cantaloupe, however, bred for desirable processing characteristics, are helping to change the face of the offshore deal.

According to the results of a recent study led by Dr. Mark Uebersax of Michigan State University, two new Asgrow cantaloupe varieties — Copa de Oro and Magellan — offer the taste, texture and intense orange color fresh-cut processors often have trouble finding, especially during the winter.

Conducted at the MSU Food Processing Center, the research showed Magellan and Copa de Oro both maintained stable quality characteristics in various production areas, across seasons and even after refrigerated storage over a 21-day period.

"I have been told frequently by fresh-cut operators they would like cantaloupe sourcing to be comparable to sourcing lettuce and carrots, where quality fluctuations aren’t as volatile," reports Matthew Barreras, Asgrow’s fresh-cut liaison. "The first hurdle was finding reliable year-round supplies. And that’s what Asgrow accomplished when it developed the first Mission Line of hybrid cantaloupes in the late 1980s.

Improving Quality
"The problem is not quantity anymore, however. It’s quality. We’re all taking a closer look at quality measurements. Choosing the right hybrid has become very scientific."

During the study, fruit from eight widely planted hybrids was evaluated upon arrival in East Lansing, Michigan after five to seven days of travel from growing areas in California, Arizona and Mexico. Up to 21 days from harvest, a second set of evaluations was made and researchers also measured the effects of refrigeration on the fruit, testing samples for sweetness, firmness, color and other qualities.

Tabulated results show both Magellan and Copa de Oro exceeded the minimum 9 percent Brix needed by fresh-cut operators upon arrival and maintained favorable readings throughout the test. In fruit firmness, too, both varieties had ideal scores for fresh-cut processing throughout the test.

In color comparisons, the two Asgrow varieties had values less than 40 (the smaller the number, the better) while other varieties scored in the high 50s, a color range many believe is too light to appeal to consumers who buy fresh-cut cantaloupe.

Leo Zanoni, Asgrow’s produce industry liaison, is the first to point out that flavor and consumer satisfaction can’t be measured solely in the laboratory. That’s why Asgrow sampled both Magellan and Copa de Oro at the recent PMA exposition in Atlanta. It was the ultimate test for off-season melons.

A Taste Consumers Love
"The taste and aroma were outstanding," Zanoni reports. "People couldn’t believe they were off-season melons. Their immediate follow-up question was, ‘Where can I get these cantaloupes?’"

One answer for fresh-cut processors, of course, is Martori Farms. Steve says the Asgrow melons also meet standards of small seed cavity and low unbound water, making them desirable for fresh-cut.

"Even though we generally sell them by the pound to processors, the ones with the smaller cavity will have a higher yield and therefore a lower cost of net product per pound to the processor," Steve adds. "It’s going to be an exciting period in the next few years as all these new varieties start coming out and we’re able to do a lot more as far as fresh-cut. The fruit category is a lot more difficult than the vegetable category was. Vegetables are fairly stable compared to fruit. With fruit, flavors change and texture changes. They break down more quickly.

"The processors have been extremely happy with these new varieties. We have had virtually zero rejections or dissatisfaction with product we’ve shipped to processors. They’ve been very happy with the quality and the packaging and the cleanliness of the product. It’s worked out extremely well for the operations we supply."

Demand Creates Growth
As fresh-cut fruit becomes more popular and consumers in general seem to be eating more cantaloupe and other fresh fruit, Steve says business at Martori Farms has been growing an average of 5 percent per year. Last year growth was about 12 percent.

The company currently raises melons on about 8,000 acres in the United States, then partners with growers who operate another 2,000 to 3,000 acres in Mexico and Central America for winter supplies.

"Certainly once you make a product easier to use, easier to consume, and more convenient, it’s going to increase sales," he concludes. "I also think what has driven per capita consumption up so dramatically with cantaloupes has been all the information about health benefits, the beta carotene, the vitamin A, the vitamin C, and the cancer-fighting properties these vitamins have. Melons are relatively high in flavor and sweetness but low in calories. Those characteristics make them very attractive to those who are health conscious."

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Cantaloupe Sourcing Tips

Fresh Cut
January 2000

What are the right questions to ask when procuring cantaloupe for processing? Leo Zanoni of Asgrow Vegetable Seeds recommends making specific requests for average Brix (sweetness) and intensity of orange color (lower values are better).

When ordering melons in the winter, Brix should be at least 9 percent and 10 percent for other seasons. Fruit harvested at three-fourths slip (a measurement of maturity at harvest) are as suitable as full slip as long as the Brix reading is right. Fruit with smaller seed cavities results in higher recovery of useable product from each cut melon.

Sometimes it’s advisable to ask the grower about irrigation practices. An earlier study by Michigan State University showed fruit quality can be hurt drastically if cantaloupe plants are watered too heavily before harvest.

"There is a direct relationship between increased unbound water (wet seed cavity) and the lack of flesh firmness or crispness," Zanoni cautions. "Cantaloupe flesh that is not firm and crisp will suffer more cellular damage and decay faster."

For fresh-cut processing or even long-distance retail markets, monitoring irrigation water applications is vital for quality, shelf life and recovery, according to Meir Peretz, Asgrow vine-crop product manager and former melon grower.

Water Affects Firmness
"Firmness values for Copa de Oro and other seed hybrids can be in excess of 100 or more if growers control the amount of water being applied to the plants, particularly before harvest," Peretz explains. "As a rule of thumb, judicial use of water results in higher Brix, more intense internal color and firmer flesh."

Still confused? Zanoni suggests looking beyond hybrid names. Most growers plant several varieties in each planting slot, including Mission, Caravelle, Cristobal, ImPac and others. It’s important to work with a grower who understands how each variety performs.

"Ultimately, the producer best knows how and when to plant certain seed hybrids in each production area to achieve the highest quality," Zanoni explains. "Set your standards and then partner with innovative growers who provide you with the products that meet your specs."

For detailed information, Asgrow publishes a western shipper category management report that explains growing seasons and quality characteristics. This publication is available free of charge.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Dallas 2000: The Future is Now

Fresh Cut
January 2000

New technology and marketing issues are coming to bear on fresh-cut produce in the new millennium and the International Fresh-cut Produce Association has geared its 13th annual conference and exhibition to address them.

Slated for March 9-11 in Dallas, Texas, "Dallas 2000: The Future Is Now" will feature 11 educational workshops on a variety of topics expected to affect processors directly in coming years.

"Our annual conferences are known not only for the caliber of information that is presented but also the timeliness," says Walter Strickland, IFPA’s chairman of the board. "This year’s event offers data, trends and materials that are especially vital as we enter a new century. The conference committee designed these workshops so that attendees can develop ideas and solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing the industry."

A workshop entitled "Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): What It Can and Cannot Do for You" will highlight the capabilities and limitations of MAP and how to determine whether it is an appropriate technology for a specific product.

Technical Workshops
In the "Fresh-cut Tomatoes: It’s Time to Ketch-up" workshop, attendees can learn about new technologies, packaging techniques and opportunities in the sliced and diced tomato business. It’s a promising area and many processors are finding success in providing customers with ready-to-use product.

Handling the press as well as concerned customers during a product quality crisis will be easier after you’ve attended "What to Do If You Have a Product Recall." You’ll learn techniques for effective communication and ways to deal with a potentially damaging crisis.

"Managing the Labor Crunch: Tools and Techniques to Retaining Good Employees" is a workshop that will demonstrate specific methods to use and retain quality employees despite the labor shortage facing the processing industry as we enter a new millennium.

Marketing Sessions
For processors who want to fine-tune their marketing techniques and strategies, the IFPA convention will offer several workshops with helpful information.

"E-Commerce: Is It the Death of Retail?" will address the impact of the Internet and other electronic advances on introducing, distributing, buying and selling new fresh-cut produce items.

At the workshop entitled "Delivering Real Value to the Foodservice Market," speakers will outline how foodservice operators evaluate value-added products and illustrate how fresh-cut processors can capture their share of this exciting growth market.

The workshop entitled "Top Ten Trends: Where’s the Competition?" will provide attendees with an analysis of key market segments perfectly positioned for fresh-cut products and suggest strategies for targeting these growing niches.

How important is flavor in the success of fresh-cut products? Attendees who are concerned about how the taste of their products affects repeat business can learn much from "Where Does Flavor Fall in the Quality Spectrum?" It is a workshop focusing on how to evaluate a product to determine if it meets the consumer’s number one purchasing demand — flavor.

Staying Ahead in Fresh-cut
"From e-commerce to modified atmosphere packaging, our slate of programming covers the entire fresh-cut spectrum," says Edith Garrett, president of IFPA. "Anyone involved in the industry or just thinking about entering the field should attend so they can capitalize on the newest techniques, trends and issues."

Chairman Walter Strickland agrees, saying, "The past year has been especially volatile for the fresh-cut industry due to outside influences such as mergers and acquisitions, a labor shortage, and an increasing focus on food safety. IFPA designed this conference to equip those in the industry or affiliated with the industry with new, vital and state-of-the-art technology to help them remain in the lead as demands for convenient, fresh food continue to increase."

Conference attendees who come to Dallas will have the option of participating in two consecutive tours to be held on Wednesday, March 8 and on Thursday, March 9. Wednesday’s tour will include visits to Standard Fruit and Vegetable’s state-of-the-art plant and 7-Eleven’s leading edge distribution center. On Thursday, the IFPA’s retail tour will take attendees to Eatzi’s, Kroger and Simon David.

Have Some Fun, Too
Another attraction in Dallas this year is the popular annual golf tournament, slated for 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 9. Participants will play at Tour 18, a course that boasts "America’s Greatest 18 Holes." The course simulates holes from some of America’s most renowned golf courses, offering players a unique and memorable golfing experience.

Finally, the conference will end with a Texas-style celebration at the Eddie Deen Ranch where attendees can relax and socialize while dining on some of the best food in the state, dancing and listening to western music, and watching armadillo races, bull riding and sharp shooters.

"This annual conference is the only event geared directly for this industry and it offers fresh-cut processors, suppliers and customers information, technology and unique networking opportunities that help initiate ideas, solutions and contacts that are vital to their success," Strickland concludes.

To register for "Dallas 2000: The Future Is Now," or for more information, contact the IFPA at 1600 Duke St., Suite 440, Alexandria, VA, 22314 or by phone at (703) 299-6282 or at www.fresh-cuts.org on the Internet.

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Technical Materials Available
In focusing directly on the fresh-cut industry, the IFPA has distinguished itself by working with the Produce Marketing Association to develop "Fresh-cut Produce Handling Guidelines," a publication that provides the latest information on proper handling procedures for fresh fruits and vegetables. The publication is targeted toward buyers of fresh-cut produce and helps answer such questions as how to determine fresh-cut needs for ordering, how to transport, store and merchandise fresh-cut products safely, how to select a reliable fresh-cut supplier, and guidelines for proper sanitation.

The IFPA has also made "Guidance for Industry — Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables" available to its members. This publication was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the USDA to address microbial food safety hazards and good agricultural and management practices.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

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Regional Processor Targets Foodservice

Fresh Cut
February 2000

CINCINNATI — The potential for fresh-cut produce in foodservice is huge. That’s why Club Chef, Inc. decided to focus solely on delivering quality fresh-cut fruits and vegetables to restaurants and other clients in the foodservice sector, according to John O’Brian, executive vice president of value-added for Castellini Company.

Club Chef has been Castellini’s fresh-cut arm since 1978 when Robert H. Castellini, chairman, acquired the processor in response to customer demand for pre-cut items. "He was visionary enough to see the paradigm shift to pre-cut in the industry and he was able to capitalize on it " O’Brian recalls. "He clearly predicted the trend toward getting produce processing out of the back rooms of restaurants".

Founded in 1896, the 102-year-old Castellini Company has a long and colorful history. Company founder Joseph J. "J.J." Castellini was a creative innovator who saw the need to add value for his customers early on and invented a celery washer to do just that.

A leader in several produce associations, Castellini served as president of the National League in 1913. He helped found the Cincinnati Fruit and Produce Credit Association and was president of the United Fruit Auction Company in Cincinnati. He also founded and served as first president of the International Apple Association. National Apple Week was created under his leadership.

Multi-faceted Company
Chairman and CEO Robert H. Castellini is grandson of the founder. He assumed leadership of the company in 1966, 14 years after the unexpected death of his father, Robert H. Castellini. Under his leadership, the company survived a devastating fire in 1967 and continued growing to become the multi-faceted company it is today.

In 1974, Castellini saw the need for a tomato and banana ripening facility and opened Grant County Foods, Inc. Four years later, he purchased a processing company that became Club Chef, Inc.

"At Club Chef right now, it’s all about focus," O’Brian explains. "We decided about 18 months ago to exit the retail arena and focus all of our resources on the foodservice sector. Since then, we’ve experienced some nice gains in productivity and quality.

"The wild volume swings that you see in the retail end can be a real distraction to a processor. Of course, foodservice is still seasonal. It’s stronger in the summer than in the winter, but we don’t see those weekly spikes and sudden peaks and valleys. The more consistent flow of product has enabled us to dial in on our processes and work on our efficiency and training."

Opportunities for fresh-cut fruits and vegetables still abound in foodservice, according to O’Brian, but he cautions there’s danger in helter-skelter growth just for the sake of becoming larger.

Controlled Growth
"We’re being very careful about what sectors within the foodservice industry we choose and the type of customers we serve," he continues. "We don’t want to do things just to say we’re a company of this size or that size. We want to be really good at what we do."

For Club Chef, focus on foodservice starts in the field where "bird dogs" give the company a "heads up on the role Mother Nature is playing" in various growing areas, according to O’Brian. These bird dogs, or field inspectors, are part of the Fresh Network organization, a produce service business partially owned by Castellini and based in Salinas, California. Castellini also owns a trucking company that hauls fresh produce to Cincinnati from California and other areas.

"Our vertical integration from the source is definitely a plus," O’Brian explains. The integration doesn’t stop there. Once Club Chef receives a load of produce, they process it and then hand it off to Castellini distribution system for customer delivery.

Today, focusing every effort on foodservice, Club Chef is working hard to do a better job for customers who are having difficulty finding enough labor to prepare produce in-house, according to O’Brian.

"We’re seeing it all over the place," he explains. "It’s all part of the same basic trend. People can’t find help to cut lettuce or dice tomatoes in the back room and, secondly, they either don’t want to take the food safety risk or they want to minimize it.

Cleaned and ready-to-use is a value-added service that is becoming widely accepted.

Reducing Risk
"I’m not saying there is huge risk in bringing whole head lettuce or cabbage into the back room straight from the field, but there’s more risk than bringing in product that has been cut in a safe environment, washed in chlorinated water, bagged, and heat sealed. You’re minimizing the number of potential risks you have out there. It’s not 100 percent foolproof, but if you can just back that risk off a little bit as a restaurant operator, that’s a big win for you."

The food safety and sanitation programs at Club Chef are designed to prevent problems from being introduced into company products rather than to detect problems after the fact by inspecting finished products, according to Bob Herdeman, director of quality assurance.

"We build quality into the products," Herdeman explains. "Food safety is our number one priority and HACCP is the cornerstone of our food safety program."

As with any HACCP program, several prerequisite programs are in place that help assure product safety, according to Herdeman. They include facility pest control and sanitation programs, the use of Good Manufacturing Practices and product recall capability.

To test the efficacy of sanitation procedures, Club Chef carries out regular microbiological analyses using periodic swab testing and daily bioluminescence tests.

A Simple Question of Safety
"One of the key things is just regular training of plant personnel," Herdeman continues. "As they do their jobs, we always remind people to think about whether or not they would eat that product. We remind them we’re serving a local market and their families may visit the restaurants we ultimately serve. HACCP can sound complicated and rigorous — and it is rigorous — but it’s still a simple question of whether they would serve these products to their families when they think how it is being handled in the plant."

Another facet of the company’s comprehensive effort to provide better products and services to customers is its continuous improvement program, according to Richard Morgan, human resources manager. Continuous improvement focuses not only on sanitation and food safety but also on every other program at the plant.

The company’s "Opportunity for Improvement" (OFI) program involves every employee by seeking suggestions for improving quality, productivity, yields and safety, Morgan says. The company implements helpful, affordable suggestions and keeps score on how they are doing.

"Food for Thought"
"Another thing we do is called ‘Food for Thought,’" Morgan adds. "Usually another supervisor and I sit down at noon with eight to 10 employees and have food for everyone. We listen more than we talk. I get it started, but then I sit back and take notes. You just can’t imagine how well that’s worked for us. The employees come up with ideas and they know what they’re talking about because they’re out there doing it every day."

To focus on a specific problem, Club Chef recently adopted Kaizen, a program used successfully by other corporations like Toyota. The company targeted its "short order" area where such products as broccoli, celery, carrots and other specialty items are processed and, in many cases, hand-packed, according to Tom Duggan, director of operations.

"The Kaizen event helped out a tremendous amount," Duggan says. "The short order area is running much better. We improved our quality and productivity. Then from that, we’ve gone to a short order line designed by Heinzen Manufacturing. We’ve had very few complaints from customers."

O’Brian says the short order area is a key part of the company’s strategy for developing new products for foodservice clients that are profitable for Club Chef.

Jeff Klare, vice-president sales and marketing says, "As a result of Club Chefs focus on the foodservice sector and the continuos improvement in quality, our business continues to grow each year. We’re a primary supplier to most of the leading restaurant chains in the country and our niche of providing a ‘one stop shop’ concept for all of our customers’ produce needs is unique to our industry.

"The potential for growth is definitely out there. It’s just unbelievable how many new opportunities continue to surface. We just want to be sure that we grow intelligently."

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Fresh-cut Trends for the New Millennium

Fresh Cut
February 2000

By Dr. A. Elizabeth Sloan, president
Sloan Trends & Solutions, Inc.

On a scale of one to 10 for the healthiest food, Americans rate fresh fruit and vegetables a perfect "10" followed by whole grains, yogurt and pasta. Not surprisingly, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables continues to be consumers’ top strategy for improving their health through food (United Soybean Board, FMI, 1999). Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of consumers still say they are trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Another strong and somewhat parallel trend involves the steady rise in interest, purchase, and sophistication of vegetarian menu and processed food items. More than half of restaurants with an average check of $15+ and 43 percent of those below, report more frequent ordering of vegetarian dishes (NRA, 1998). Grilled veggie sandwiches were the "rising star" among all sandwiches in Restaurants & Institution’s Menu Census, while the vegetarian category grew 31 percent in traditional supermarkets and nearly 20 percent in natural food stores. With 12 million "true vegetarians," record numbers of "semi-meatless eaters" and 15 percent of college students now describing themselves as vegetarians, expect the new "vegetarian" to finally come of age as a strong and sophisticated mainstream cuisine.

As the motivating force behind the purchase of healthy foods shifts from nutrition to health maintenance and the management/treatment of specific health conditions, not surprisingly more than 50 percent of grocery shoppers regularly buy foods for their specific health benefits. With 95 percent of shoppers now believing that "certain foods have health benefits that go beyond basic nutrition and may reduce the risk of disease or other health concerns," produce heads the list (IFIC, 1998). Bananas, purchased for potassium content by 61 percent of shoppers, citrus fruits, for vitamins by 65percent, broccoli, for cancer prevention by 53 percent, and apples, for fiber content, are some common, more traditional, examples (Figure 1 - FMI/Prevention, 1999). Treating colds with orange juice now rivals the use of over-the-counter drug products. Clearly, today’s shoppers prefer naturally nutritious foods to treat or manage a condition no matter if that desire is self-imposed or recommended by a doctor (Figure 2).

More importantly today, 59 million self-care supermarket shoppers are looking for foods to help manage and treat health conditions like cholesterol, heart disease and others. Fruits and vegetables, high in health-promoting phytochemicals, provide a wide variety of health benefits, such as helping to lower cholesterol, preventing blood plaque from sticking to artery walls, etc. These wondrous foods, commonly found along the produce aisle, also promise to provide a powerhouse of mainstream marketing opportunities.

Fresh Is Still Best
At the same time, America continues to be obsessed with fresh foods. Fruits and veggies top that list too! Today, there is no stronger competitive advantage than being fresher, or being perceived to be fresher, than a competitor or another similar form of product. In fact, the freshness claim is "extremely/very" important to nearly two-thirds of supermarket shoppers and has topped the list of the most desirable food claims since 1994 (HealthFocus, 1999).

Being able to determine a product’s freshness by freshness dating has become a serious issue for both shoppers and retailers. It is now the third most important reason consumers select a primary supermarket for the majority of their shopping, just behind "high quality fruits/vegetables" and a "clean, neat store" (FMI, 1999). The vast majority also feel strongly that supermarkets should mark "sell-by" or "use-by-dates" (88percent) and "prepared on" dates (73 percent) for fresh prepared foods, meals and deli foods while three-fourths said they would buy more if the food looked fresher!

At the same time, sales of natural food products remain strong across all retail channels, topping $25.3 billion. That includes sales on the Internet (year ending June, 1999). Likewise, organic sales are expected to continue to grow at 20 percent to 24 percent per year and top $9.4 billion by 2001 (OTA, 1999). Nine out of 10 shoppers who look for natural products — compared to 41 percent of shoppers overall — consider a "grown without pesticides" label an extremely/very important reason to change brands. Not surprisingly, as concern over food safety, environmental contamination and country of origin continue to rise, marketers should begin differentiating products by the quality and timeliness of processing parameters, agricultural techniques and the quality of water fed to crops. With environmental concerns returning to levels prevalent in the late 1980s and with 60 million Generation Y kids — who learned about ecology in preschool — just graduating from high school, look for Earth-friendly and wallet-friendly values to remain strong for the longer term (Phillips, American Demographics, 7/1999).

SIMPLE, SEASONED AND SENSIBLE. . .
Americans have never had a greater interest in and a keener understanding of food than they do now. They read recipes like novels, are more interested in the "Food Channel" than soap operas, and complain bitterly when they can’t find the latest trendy product or pill. Spoiled by restaurant take-out and tastes, today’s "virtual cooks" favor flavor, fast-forward service and fun!

Americans will continue to try to simplify their lives. Frazzled by fusion and overwhelmed by product options, time pressures and chores, they will demand a simpler — seasoned — and more sensible approach to food. Watch for signature ingredients, simpler meals and samplers to proliferate. At the same time, look for consumers to demand simplicity in selecting and obtaining everyday fare. On-line shopping and couponing, "Street Food" and "round-the-clock" foodservice will be essential to meet America’s new penchant for late-night snacks, revamped dining patterns and "on-the-go" demands.

Despite the growing number of techno-optimists, concerns over food safety, environmental contamination and country of origin will make natural foods the "norm," while "Fresh" will be forced to get "fresher." And, as the basis for classic culinary training shifts from France to the Far East, watch as foreign varieties of seasonings, sauces and snacks provide snappy substitutes for everyday fare.

During the last few years, we’ve seen a redefinition of nutrition. Our struggle to look and feel good has shifted nutrition from healthy eating to problem treating. Nutrition is now perceived as a tool for disease prevention and the self-treatment of specific health conditions.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI, 1998b) estimates the supermarket "self care" movement to be 55 million shoppers strong! One-third of shoppers is more likely to self-treat than last year. Nutraceuticals — the fastest growing segment of today’s food industry — with sales of $64 billion, are perfectly positioned to capture these shifting mainstream attitudes toward health and well being. Fresh fruits and vegetables can play an integral role in this trend.

Clearly, the shift to "very" healthy foods reinforces the innate desire of consumers to indulge. Indulgence is back, but in milder form. Today, some consumers will opt to give up a few grams of fat for taste, others will eat cheesecake today and enjoy Slim-Fast™ tomorrow, while yet another group, burned out by the "battle of the bulge" will go hog wild. It’s a marketer’s dream!

Whether for fuel or fun, one thing is certain: Consumers want easy, entertaining and enjoyable fare. With that in mind, here are ten checkpoints for fresh-cut produce manufacturers to talk and think about as the basis for building business opportunities in the next millennium:

Shift to Very Intense, but Familiar
It appears creative restaurateurs and food marketers may have gone too far, too fast by haphazardly mixing ingredients, ethnic flavorings and cuisines. Despite growing consumer affinity for spices and ethnic flavors, "plain American" is the cuisine three out of four say they enjoy most. How will you make your products more flavorful and how will you dramatize them in a familiar way for today’s "arm chair" rather than "jet set" travelers?

Burned-out and Bored
The impending shift of the technical basis for American chefs and culinarians from classical French techniques to those of the Pacific Rim will undoubtedly have the greatest impact on the American palate. What cooking techniques, flavor profiles, varieties or mixes will best appeal and showcase your products to this emerging mainstream cuisine with a "fresh," light attitude?

Super Simple
Consumers are choosing to make cooking — in any form — a low priority chore, but they still like the feel of participation, the sounds of sizzling and the practice of stirring health foods. How can you simplify your products, reduce chores and directions for greater appeal?

Free-style Eating
Mealtime is anytime and anywhere. How will you address mobile eaters’ needs at work and at play with fresh tasty alternatives? With late night getting nifty and now being the second largest 2-hour segment for snacking, how can produce manufacturers capture a new day-part? Why not add other mealtimes and day-parts too? Breakfast? Snacks? Appetizers too?

Self-treatment and Positive Eating
With the movement away from avoiding bad ingredients, seeking good, fresh produce clearly moves to the front burner. What actions have you taken — or can you take — to earn your products’ rightful share of the market for this new generation of healthy products? How can you capitalize on the phytochemical content of your products and appeal to 85 million dieters for health reasons and more.

For the answers, recommended actions and specific new product opportunities and directions, attend the Fresh-Cut Annual meeting in Dallas, March 10 and hear Dr. Sloan’s Keynote Address, "A Taste of Tomorrow: Trends & Opportunities for Fresh-Cut Produce" and her presentation on "Where’s The Competition for Fresh-Cut?"

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

New Processor Offers Fresh-cut Spuds

Fresh Cut
February 2000

CENTER, Colo. — After shipping ordinary russet potatoes since the 1930s, who would have guessed growers in this out-of-the-way community would be promoting a sophisticated fresh-cut product like "Pommes Parisienne" by the year 2000?

It certainly didn’t happen overnight. Rick Ellithorpe and other San Luis Valley potato growers have long dreamed of a processing plant where they could add value to their spuds to compensate for dwindling returns on the fresh market.

Their dream came true when their new company, Colorado Gourmet Potatoes, recently shipped its first order of fresh, whole-peeled potatoes to a foodservice customer.

"Our group has been together for six or seven years," says Ellithorpe, a fourth-generation Colorado native and one of nine investors in the new plant. "We looked at a lot of things. We talked about putting in a potato flake plant, but we felt like fresh is the trend."

In Europe, fresh-cut potatoes have been popular for a number of years, according to Ellithorpe. Plants he visited three years ago in Europe have since doubled their fresh-cut capacity and are looking at further expansion.

European Flair
"It’s a huge, huge thing in Europe," Ellithorpe says. "They’re more interested in something that is absolutely fresh. Their restaurants, their markets, their people preparing food all demand fresh.

"In my opinion, it’s a little more difficult to try to provide an absolute fresh product and get the shelf life you need. And that’s part of the reason it’s taken us so long. It’s something that hasn’t been done in the United States before except on a very small scale."

With Europe’s experience in mind, Ellithorpe and eight other investors have built a state-of-the-art fresh-cut processing plant capable of filling a semitrailer with fresh processed potatoes each day. With special processing equipment imported for the plant by American European Systems of Sparks, Nevada, the plant is versatile, efficient and up-to-date.

"We have a myriad of different products we’re capable of making," Ellithorpe reports. "Right now, we’ve started with three different products. At the moment, our primary product is a fresh, whole-peeled 3- to 5-ounce potato that can be used for mashed potatoes, fries or whatever the chef wants to make. Then we make slices. I call them scallops. When you take them out of the bag and look at all the labor and all the waste that’s been dealt with and the consistency and quality, you realize it’s a lot of advantage."

Premium Potato Balls
The company’s third new product is Colorado Gourmet Potatoes™ brand Pommes Parisienne, a specially cut 1.25-inch diameter potato ball that has become popular with European chefs.

"It’s a premium item," Ellithorpe explains. "Chefs can do a lot of different things with it. It’s like a baby red potato, but it’s clean, peeled and perfectly round. They’re all the same size."

Colorado Gourmet Potatoes are cut "fresh from the mountains," and vacuum packed in 5- and 10-pound bags with no cooking or preservatives.

"Our products are absolutely fresh," Ellithorpe asserts. "Our process and packaging have given them a 21-day shelf life. Chefs tell me there is a huge difference between cooked product and an absolutely fresh product."

One chef who is enthusiastic about the company’s Pommes Parisienne is Lane Warner, executive chef at the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"I use them a lot," Warner reports. "I come from a good school, from a good background of cooking. I learned never to sacrifice quality. No matter what it takes, never sacrifice quality. These potatoes, they’re the real McCoy. They don’t sacrifice any flavor whatsoever and they’re so user friendly and labor friendly.

Taste Is First
"That was my big key. The taste was first. I didn’t care about labor. I just cared if they tasted good, if they tasted like a potato."

Warner says one of the most important attributes of Pommes Parisienne is consistent size and quality. Asked if he uses other fresh-cut products in his kitchen, Warner also mentions gourmet peeled baby carrots with tops.

"That’s the kind of thing a chef is looking for," he reasons. "Anything to knock the labor out. If you had to sit around and peel a thousand baby carrots, they’re not all going to look the same. What I like about this potato product is consistency. They’re all the same."

Consistent size means uniform cooking time, too, according to Ellithorpe. When chefs instruct their staffs on how to prepare a recipe, they can be sure the potatoes will all come out the same if cooking times are equal.

John Mertes, executive chef at the Loews Giorgio Hotel in Denver, says uniform cooking is one of the attributes he likes about Pommes Parisienne.

"I like them a lot," Mertes reports. "The size is uniform. It’s nice. We use them for a variety of things: sometimes for banquets, sometimes just for special occasions. I’ve gotten nothing but positive response from them. These potatoes are about as close as we come to buying something prepared. Otherwise, we do everything from scratch here."

Informing Denver Chefs
Joan Brewster, president of ACF Culinarians of Colorado, the Denver-based chapter of the American Culinary Federation, says chefs in her group are just beginning to become acquainted with the new fresh-cut potato products.

"I think they’re being received very well," Brewster remarks. "Overall, I think it’s been very positive. Colorado Gourmet Potatoes is sponsoring an apprentice who is training to be a chef. He is working with John Mertes and they are using the potato products in their hotel. He is kind of a sounding board for the rest of the chefs in our organization as to how they can use those potatoes. Education is the key."

Since Colorado Gourmet has targeted foodservice establishments with their new products, they’ve even hired Hans Amstein, a respected retired chef from the Denver area, to help market them.

"The chefs like the product," Amstein says. "I personally have tried the product and I would certainly use it if I were still active.

"With today’s labor shortage, especially in places where they do a large amount of banquet business, it certainly helps to have a product like that available. It’s going to take awhile to get these products introduced, but the reaction to the flavor of these potatoes has been very favorable. I personally think they taste like freshly peeled potatoes."

Built-in Labor Savings
Labor is a significant factor for fresh-cut potatoes, according to Lou Mozer of Federal Fruit and Produce Co. in Denver. He has sold Colorado Gourmet Potatoes to several foodservice clients, including country clubs and retirement centers.

"Because of the lack of help in the kitchens, I think there’s a dire need for these products," Mozer reasons. "We’re going more and more for the fresh-pack merchandise — the carrot sticks, the celery sticks, the peppers — that has already been cut. Chefs much prefer the flavor of the fresh ones."

Flavor will prove to be a key to the success of Colorado Gourmet Potatoes, predicts Rick Ellithorpe. He says his products exceed the flavor of others on the market that are already cooked.

"We feel like they really do have a lot of flavor," he concludes. "That’s one of the results of having fresh product. That flavor is still there when they receive it. Any time you cook something, it begins to lose its flavor. Then you have the issue of labor and also waste.

"If you cut open fresh potatoes, there will always be one or two you can’t use, but when you buy five pounds of this product, all the labor’s in there and you just cook it. You get five pounds of product. And you don’t have to deal with all that garbage that was made by peeling them. Dealing with waste in downtown Denver or New York is a tough nut to crack. They don’t want you dumping that stuff down the sewer and they don’t want you filling their landfills. We take care of all those problems for the customer and they get all usable product."

Editor’s note: Visit Colorado Gourmet Potatoes’ web site at www.cogourmetpotatoes.com or call Monterey Bay Food Group at (800) 685-3663 for more information.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Adding Value to Vegetables in the Field

Fresh Cut
February 2000

SALINAS, Calif. — In 1974, Bud Antle Inc. developed a process for chopping and bagging lettuce in the field, then later abandoned it. Today, however, the concept of processing produce in the field to cut handling costs is still alive in various forms.

A 12-page brochure published by Bud Antle Inc. in 1975 features a young lady slicing a head of lettuce in the field on a cutting table. The table also holds a large salad bowl and other salad components. On the ground next to the table is a stack of Bud of California® brand salad mix. The brochure’s headline proclaims, "Now you can serve your customers a delicious salad made fresh in the field."

Inside, the brochure goes on to tout the benefits of "field freshness" and year-round supplies. On a later page, a photo and diagram depict the mobile units the company used to harvest, cut, wash and bag lettuce and salad mix in the field.

"That was the earliest field processing," according to Dave Cayton, an engineer and consultant for Backus USA, who worked for Antle in 1974 and developed the company’s in-the-field process. "It makes all kinds of sense to do it that way because you leave all the culls and waste material in the field. A big part of the cost and a big part of the headaches are associated with managing culls, core, wrapper leaves and trimmings."

Processing in the "Mother Ship"
Cayton’s process employed a special truck for harvesting and cutting lettuce and a roadside or in-field mobile processing unit, dubbed the "mother ship," where chopped lettuce was washed, dried, bagged and put into cartons.

"We put cutters on the trucks and made the bodies like a stainless steel thermos bottle for collecting cut lettuce," Cayton recalls. "The lettuce was trimmed and cored in the field and lifted by conveyor to the overhead cutter. Cut lettuce fell into this stainless steel chamber with a conveyor floor and pretty soon we’d have a load of cut lettuce.

"The mother ship was a van that was refrigerated inside and all stainless steel. It had a special centrifuge. We backed up to the van, opened the back door of the truck and turned the floor conveyor on backwards to dump the lettuce into a long unit like a bathtub. We had a stream of water flowing from one end to the other and pumped the lettuce into another trailer where it was dried and packed into bags and cartons. There was a side door to this second van where a truck could back up and receive the cases of finished product.

"We took this mother ship around with us to where there was a cluster of fields to be harvested. It had its own generator and water supply, but the point is we didn’t bring anything out of the field that we weren’t going to use."

Facing Logistical Problems
Cayton recalls the process worked well for a time, but as precut salads became more popular and volume began to increase, the company faced logistical problems with in-the-field processing.

"What killed it was if we ever had a surge," Cayton recalls. "Suppose the people at the van were packing at a certain rate and the trucks were coming in at a certain rate. As long as everything was working, it was fine. But suppose a truck had a flat tire in the field and you had a delay. We didn’t have any cold room to store things in and the crews were all on standby. Likewise, if the van had some kind of electrical failure, you had a bunch of trucks backing up and the guys in the field were waiting for one to return so they could do some more cutting. Pretty soon, it was time for them to go home and you didn’t have your orders filled."

The process was finally abandoned. Bud Antle Inc. was purchased by Dole Food Co. in 1978 and Cayton launched his own processing machinery consulting business in 1985.

Growers, packers and processors, however, have not given up on the idea of controlling production costs by processing product in the field where possible. A number of companies are cleaning and coring lettuce in the fields before shipping it in bulk bins to processing facilities.

Tanimura and Antle has reportedly taken field processing of lettuce one step further to include chopping and washing and is seeking a patent on the system. Company officials, however, do not wish to discuss their process.

What Works Today
What works for lettuce also works for romaine hearts and other specialty greens, according to John Tamagni of European Vegetable Specialties Farms, Salinas, California.

"If you consider wrapped lettuce to be value-added, we’ve been doing that for probably 20 years," Tamagni explains. "The number one item in the [Salinas] valley now is probably romaine hearts. They’re absolutely huge. It’s big business. Virtually all of the major companies are doing them, harvesting probably tens of thousands of cases a day in the summer.

"We do treviso and romaine hearts. We trim them, put them naked in boxes and we wrap them like lettuce and bag them. And we do wrapped radicchio. We band radicchio and bag it.

"We do all that in the field. Labor is so expensive here we do as much in the field as we can. We only want to have to touch the product one time. And we drop the old leaves in the field one time and they get turned back into the ground."

Tamagni says growers who trim and package vegetables in the field are most likely using some type of chlorinated bath for food safety reasons. He points out romaine hearts usually pass through a chlorinated shower to remove soil and guard against microbial contamination and cauliflower harvesting machines are also set up with chlorinated showers.

Celery and Broccoli
Tour participants saw a chlorinated wash in use last July in the field for celery during PMA’s Foodservice Conference, Tour & Expo. In a field being harvested by NewStar Fresh Foods, regular packs of celery were being cut, trimmed and packed into cartons for shipment. At a special table set up in the field, however, several workers were trimming celery and then dipping it into a chlorinated bath before putting it into poly bags and then into cartons.

Washing isn’t always part of the process when adding value to produce in the field, according to Gina Nucci, foodservice marketing manager at Mann Packing Company. For some customers who want the right price, there’s such a thing as adding too much value to a product, whether in the field or in the processing plant.

"We have field-cut Broccoli Wokly, our loose-cut florets in a box," Gina explains. "They come into the plant and they’re iced just like a commodity, whereas the processed Broccoli Wokly goes through the processing plant and gets washed and inspected. It is subject to all the HACCP regulations. It’s relevant in the price. Some people just want it cut. They don’t care if it’s been washed."

Nucci says Mann’s romaine hearts are simply cut, trimmed and packed in the field without washing, but customers need to understand that the final product is not ready to eat.

"A lot of times, consumers assume this package is ready to eat," she adds. "It’s a Catch-22. If it’s too clean, it’s no longer a commodity, but then you might get complaints if consumers expect it to be clean."

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Potato Cuts Immigrate from Europe

Fresh Cut
February 2000

RENO, Nev. — "Pommes Parisienne," a specially cut round potato popular in Europe, as well as other types of fresh-cut potatoes, are being introduced in both the United States and Canada with favorable results, according to Don Bergin of American European Systems.

"If you look at Europe, you’ll see many cut potatoes in the markets, but you still see displays of bulk potatoes, too," Bergin says. "It’s quite different in Europe. You’ll see cut potatoes that have seasoning already on them ready for cooking."

Because fresh-cut potatoes have been popular in Europe for a number of years, equipment for peeling, slicing, dicing and making "chateau" cuts, as well as forming round pommes parisienne, is available from European manufacturers like Finis of Ulft, Holland, according to Bergin.

The process of cutting round potato balls is called "profiling," according to Bergin. It gives growers or processors the opportunity to add value to small potatoes that often have limited marketability. In fact, the ideal potato for profiling is about the size of a "B" red potato frequently sold bulk in supermarkets or used in restaurants. The diameter of the potato to be profiled should be about an eighth of an inch larger in diameter than the desired size of the finished product, according to Bergin.

The AES-Finis Profile Machine was originally developed in Europe to meet market demand for a high capacity shaping system capable of producing balls of consistent size from potatoes, carrots, beets and other fresh vegetables. End products were used for a variety of applications for both foodservice and retail in Europe.

Using a combination of abrasive and knife rolls, the Finis unit can turn out about 500 pounds of potato balls per hour per set of rolls. The largest unit is equipped with 5 roll sets. The end product has a smooth finish, comparable to an item that has been peeled with a knife. The abrasive roll is used as an agitator during the process. Knife rolls are responsible for converting pre-peeled/diced potatoes or carrot segments into parisienne balls.

The profile machine can produce round products with consistent diameters ranging from 19 mm to 42 mm or .75 inch to 1-5/8 inch. Other sizes are available on request. Potatoes must be diced or pre-peeled, preferably with an abrasive roller peeler, according to Bergin. He points out steam or chemically peeled potatoes are not suitable for profiling. If carrot balls are to be produced, the ideal raw product is carrot segments.

Finis also manufactures abrasive peelers, knife peelers, pommes chateau cutting machines, and packaging equipment. For small or startup pommes parisienne operations, AES offers a low-capacity unit called a Formit Pro for test marketing. It has an hourly capacity of approximately 200 pounds.

Fresh-cut potatoes are so popular in Europe that most supermarkets sell out of product nearly every day, according to Bergin. Because of the volume, retail prices are lower for finished product in Europe than typical prices in North America. Products include whole-peeled, sliced and parisienne cut potatoes. Restaurants are big users of chateau cut potatoes, Bergin says.

"It’s been said Europe is about seven years ahead of us in fresh-cut products," Bergin explains. "But it looks like the United States is catching up quickly. We frequently bring potential North American customers to Europe because all the equipment we handle is made in Europe. In addition to visiting numerous processing facilities, part of what we always do is take American processors to supermarkets in Holland and Germany where they can see what the retail situation is like. We also take them to the equivalent of a Costco so they can see what the foodservice side is like."

Bergin says European supermarkets have more finely chopped prepared lettuce-based salads than can be found in the United States. They are often packed in a sealed rigid tray for convenient use.

Pre-cooked packs of potatoes are also popular in Europe, according to Bergin. A Dutch cooperative called Agrico is the largest shipper of prepared, pre-cooked potatoes under the Cela Vita label. They can be found from Scandinavia to France, he says.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

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Vertically Integrated from Seed to Table

Fresh Cut
March 2000

OXNARD, Calif. — It was a logical progression. Boskovich Farms Inc. was already one of the largest grower/packer/shippers of fresh whole produce in North America and more and more customers needed items to be cut, washed and ready-to-use.

"We started by taking some of our oldest mainline items and doing a value-added concept for them," says Joe Boskovich, CEO. "We took traditional green onions, our single largest commodity, traditionally packed 48 bunches in ice, and took it to an iceless packaged product packed four 2-pound bags to a carton."

High quality fresh-cut produce can only be achieved by starting with the best whole product available and that was no problem for members of the Boskovich family who have been mastering the art of growing for 85 years.

Boskovich Farms was founded in 1915 by Joe’s grandfather, Stephen Boskovich, a young Croatian immigrant, who starting raising vegetables on 5 acres in North Hollywood, California. His philosophy was simple: "Work hard. Work smart and do whatever it takes to get the job done right."

85 Years of Growth
Boskovich expanded his original operation to 20 acres and when his three sons, Phil, George and John, took over in the 1940s, they grew the family business to 500 acres of prime San Fernando Valley land.

Joe and his cousin, George Boskovich, chairman, and brother Phil Boskovich, Jr., president, are the third generation. They have expanded the family enterprise to include 17,000 acres in five growing regions. Headquartered in Oxnard, the company maintains farming, sales and shipping operations in Salinas, California, growing and shipping facilities in Yuma, Arizona, and growing operations in Sonora, Mexico, and Baja California.

Employing 900 full-time workers, Boskovich Farms has become known for high quality whole produce, including 30 varieties of mixed vegetables and strawberries.

A vertically integrated company, Boskovich controls every step of the growing process until produce reaches the buyer or arrives at its modern processing plant in Oxnard.

When Joe and his brothers first recognized the need to provide value-added produce items for their customers, their first step was to build a sanitary processing room in the Oxnard packinghouse to do iceless green onions as well as iceless cilantro, parsley, kale and spinach, according to Joe.

Getting into Fresh-cut
"We then bought an existing fresh-cut operation called Fresh Prep here in Oxnard," he recalls. "That got us into all of the packaged salads, broccoli and cauliflower florets, celery sticks, carrot sticks and a wide variety of other items.

"We were waiting for our opportunity. We were very nervous about starting from scratch and trying to build a customer base. Even though the fresh-cut industry has been growing, it’s always been extremely competitive. It really helped to buy an existing operation that had an established customer base."

Since purchasing Fresh Prep, Boskovich says the fresh-cut portion of the business has been growing about 65 percent a year. The company’s focus is on foodservice, but many items packed for kitchen use are also making a hit in some retail settings such as club stores and supermarket delis, Boskovich explains.

"We’ve really had great success with the club stores on several value-added items," he continues. "They are taking foodservice-size packs and retailing them. They’ll sell to independent restaurateurs. And you also see retailers buying foodservice pack quantities for their deli operations and buying our celery sticks, carrot sticks or bulk radishes and then making relish trays."

Nationwide Reach
Since purchasing Fresh Prep, Boskovich Farms has become like a versatile regional processor that actually ships nationwide, the CEO reasons.

"As opposed to some companies that do largely salad items, we’re different because we do so many different items, from salad mixes to diced and sliced onions to sliced celery, diced celery, celery sticks, sliced bell peppers, diced bell peppers and zucchini sticks. We do stir-fry mix, carrot sticks, matchstick carrots, shredded carrots, baby carrots, coin carrots, diced carrots, mushrooms, green beans, just about everything.

"We’re still small compared to the big outfits, but we’re growing. The same customer will be buying head lettuce from us and will also be buying chopped and shredded lettuce on the same order."

Being able to supply customers with whole produce as well as a wide variety of fresh-cut items is a key element in the growth Boskovich has experienced in value-added, according to Kevin Richardson, as vice president of sales and marketing. A nine-year veteran with the company, Richardson is now headquartered with the Salinas sales staff in a new 74,000-square-foot cooling and shipping facility ready to handle this summer’s crops. The new plant will also have processing capabilities.

Becoming a One-stop Shop
"Probably the biggest trend we’re seeing is this push toward transportation being tighter and tighter," Richardson explains. "One-stop shopping is a big issue for our customers. That’s probably been the best thing we’ve been able to present besides a more-than-adequate product. It’s just the fact that, ‘Hey, we can consolidate this stuff all at one place for you, all from one producer and with consistency of label, etc.’

"I think that’s a big deal. At this point on the commodity side, the top-end shippers are all producing boxes that are pretty similar. I think the way you differentiate yourself is service. That means how fast you can get a truck in and out. It means how many items you can provide and how consistent you can be with your service. That’s going to be the battle cry for the next couple of years. And, on the foodservice side, we have a lot of items that make sense, the broccoli florets, the cauliflower florets, the whole trend of iceless so the operator doesn’t have ice in the kitchen."

Currently value-added produce represents about 20 percent of Boskovich’s business, but it’s a growing segment, says Joe Boskovich.

"The commodity business for us has been relatively flat and the value-added end of it has been growing," he explains. "I would say our strong point would be our wide breadth of product line between whole goods and processed goods."

Heavy on Service
There’s even more to Boskovich Farms, however, than a wide array of high quality produce items and the ability to fill up a truck in a single stop. Service tips the scales strongly in their favor, too.

Over the years, efficiency in serving customers has been a goal and Boskovich Farms has quietly been developing proprietary in-house computer software that enables them to coordinate all their far-flung operations to almost magically get customers’ trucks on the road in record time.

"We have a great software system that has our sales, production, farming, harvesting, processing, shipping and inventory all linked together in one system," the CEO points out. "We’re very happy with it and we think it is instrumental in getting trucks in and out of here. That’s a big focus of ours — how fast we can get trucks in and out of our facility while at the same time trying to have the freshest product possible and also having 30 different items on a single truckload. Our software system plays a huge role in that."

Trucks come and go in a hurry, but customer service at Boskovich reaches well beyond the doors of the processing plant. If end users need service, Joe says the company dispatches representatives to assist them on-site.

Vendor-managed Inventory
"For our larger accounts, we have vendor-managed inventory," he continues. "It’s all done over the Internet. We actually track the customer’s warehouse inventory. For one very large foodservice operator on the East Coast, we’re actually tracking inventory and creating the orders ourselves. We’re doing this type of inventory management for a couple retailers, too. And we do a lot of work with customers in quality control and watching our product as it goes through the pipeline. We’re very interested in how it looks when it’s finally consumed."

From the company’s field audit program to its in-house sanitation and food safety activities to customer service at the user level, control is at the heart of Boskovich’s program, Joe explains.

"We feel very good about the fact that we have complete control," he reasons. "Everything from ground selection to seed selection, the whole growing process, harvesting, processing, and shipping is all under the control of our family. We do things the way we like them done—to our standards. We’re even selecting special varieties of lettuce, celery, broccoli and other items and planting them specifically for processing.

"We know where our produce is grown and how it’s grown because we’re growing it. We have nobody to blame but ourselves and we’re pretty tough on ourselves. We feel it gives us a real advantage."

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Food Safety and Sanitation at Boskovich

Fresh Cut
March 2000

"The finest fresh-cut produce starts with the best raw product," reads a company brochure, but the people at Boskovich Farms Inc. also know quality product depends on proper handling with strict attention to product safety.

That’s why Boskovich hired a full-time staff member with a Ph.D. in food science in 1996. In 1998, Dr. Jennylynd James, Ph.D., became the current director of food safety/research and development. She holds a doctorate in Food Science/Biotechnology from McGill University, Canada, and has worked at various food companies managing their quality assurance programs. She has been published in such scientific journals as Journal of Applied Bacteriology, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Journal of Food Biochemistry. Her professional affiliations include membership in the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association’s Production and Quality Assurance Council and the Institute of Food Technologists where she serves as an executive committee member for the Biotechnology Division. She is chair of the food safety committee of the Grower-Shipper Vegetable Association of Central California. She is also a member of the International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians and serves as expert reviewer for the journal Biotechnology Progress.

In-house Expert
As the company’s in-house food science expert, Dr. James heads up food safety and sanitation programs, conducts research on safety and quality issues, directs the quality assurance program, coordinates the recall program and oversees development and implementation of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program.

The HACCP program in place at Boskovich Farms is based on the seven principles of HACCP as set forth by the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food. As quoted from Boskovich’s Food Safety and Sanitation Brochure, they are:

Conduct a hazard analysis. This includes preparing a list of steps in the process where significant hazards occur and describing the preventive measures.
Identify the critical control points (CCP) of the process. A CCP is defined as a point, step or procedure at which control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels.
Establish critical limits for preventive measures associated with each identified critical control point.
Establish CCP monitoring requirements. Establish procedures for using the results of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain control.
Establish corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from an established critical limit.
Establish effective record keeping procedures that document the HACCP system.
Establish procedures for verification that the HACCP system is working correctly.
Field Sanitation
The food safety and sanitation program at Boskovich also includes a field sanitation program, programs for product safety and sanitation in plant operations and processing operations, and a quality assurance program for shipping and receiving. All produce, whether packed whole or processed as value-added, is under a strict food safety and sanitation program.

In the field, employees are trained about food safety issues, including personal hygiene and sanitation. They use hairnets, gloves and foodservice aprons for in-field processing. A field sanitation unit with a sanitation crew ensures that all in-field processing equipment is clean. Chlorinated water is used during field processing for rinsing of processed vegetables. Field foremen are required to monitor and document food safety procedures, including restroom cleanliness, adequate restroom supplies, water chlorine levels, health of employees, and cleanliness of processing equipment.

Boskovich Farms also implements an integrated pest management program, using pesticides only as needed to control insects. The company’s field audit program provides field history and data in the event of a food safety issue. The audit program includes a general audit overview, ranch history, adjacent land usage, fertilizer usage, pesticide usage, water supply source, employee hygiene practices and harvest practices.

Packing Plant Operations
Once whole product is brought to the packing plant, chlorine, pH and temperature levels are continuously monitored and documented. Products are cooled to the proper temperature when they are received at the plant. Once cooled, the cold chain is maintained through shipping. All processing areas adhere to standard sanitation procedures.

All employees are routinely trained in hygiene and food safety issues. A pest control system is in effect throughout the plant.

An automatic chlorine and acid injection system is used for maintaining the cleanliness of water used for rinsing vegetables. Metal detection devices are installed on processing lines to detect possible metal contamination. Boskovich performs routine microbiological testing on all processing environments and final product, both in-house and at an external lab.

Prior to shipping, Boskovich inspects all trucks for their ability to maintain proper refrigerated temperatures and overall cleanliness and sanitation of the trailer. The company conducts in-house audits and commissions third-party audits periodically to verify product safety.

Processing Operations
The food safety and sanitation program at Boskovich Farms also includes standards for all processing operations. As in the packinghouse, employees are trained in hygiene and food safety issues. They are required to wear hairnets, gloves and foodservice coats and to wash and sanitize before coming to their workstation.

In the processing plant, the HACCP plan is frequently evaluated and updated to conform to current industry standards. The company continuously monitors and documents chlorine levels, pH levels and temperature of wash water in the plant.

When raw product arrives at the plant, staff inspects it for quality and temperature. The cold chain is maintained from receiving through shipping.

As in the packing plant, Boskovich also maintains a pest control system in the processing plant and all processing areas adhere to standard sanitation procedures. Metal detectors are also used on processed product.

Again, routine microbiological testing is part of the program in the processing plant. Testing is performed both in-house and by an outside laboratory.

Product Hold & Recall
A product hold and recall program is in place and the company now performs a mock recall every six months to test its ability to track produce in the unlikely event of a food safety concern. The field audit program mentioned above provides field history and additional data.

The product coding/trace back program used in the shipping and receiving area enables plant staff to track product to its source of origin. Outside suppliers must also provide information about growing field, lot, ranch location, ranch history and current farming procedures.

The staff at Boskovich takes pride in adhering to—and exceeding—all food safety rules and regulations as well as all appropriate standards of the U.S. National Advisory Committee on Microbiology Criteria for Food.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Fresh-cut Prospects Are Sunny in Florida

Fresh Cut
March 2000

NAPLES, Fla. — Jack Roberts saw the potential for fresh-cut tomatoes and fruit in southern Florida and, when the timing was right, he hired Robert Eddy to help him launch Incredible Fresh out of his existing produce distribution facility.

In 1989, when Roberts and two other partners bought Collier County Produce, it was a $2 million whole produce distributor. Since then, the entrepreneurs have built a new facility and then added another 60 percent to that. Today, with 33,000 square feet of space, the business does $34 million annually, according to Roberts.

During those years of growth, however, Roberts had worked with another processing firm to test fresh-cut fruit items in the Miami area. The other company dropped the idea, but Roberts never lost sight of the opportunities.

"I new it was a very difficult process to produce fresh-cut fruit and tomatoes with any shelf stability," he recalls. "In 1998, when we got the opportunity to entice Eddy to come to Naples, then we made the commitment to go ahead. Then we hired Brian Hill with Brian Hill and Associates, Northbrook, Illinois to assist Eddy in line design and equipment procurement and installation. We have equipment from Urschel Laboratories, Bock Engineered Products, Inc., Heinzen Manufacturing, CVP Systems, Inc., Weigh Right Automatic Scale Company, and Koch Supplies Inc.

"The World Is Going Fresh"
"We think the world is going fresh and we have to go with it. We’re doing business as Incredible Fresh. That is our label. We were fortunate to trademark that name and are very excited about our future."

Eddy, who gained his technical expertise working for Fresh Advantage, came to Naples to manage the new processing operation that now encompasses about 6,000 square feet in two rooms. One room is for fruit and the other is for vegetables. The company currently produces such items as sliced and diced tomatoes, cut melons, topped strawberries and some exotic items like kiwifruit.

"We also do some niche items, such as whole-peeled French shallots for Christopher Ranch and soup blends for supermarkets," Eddy explains.

Both Roberts and Eddy foresee a bright future for fresh-cut produce in Florida. To become more vertically integrated, the company has become partners with C & D Fruit and Vegetable Co. in Bradenton, a grower/shipper that supplies whole produce to both supermarkets and foodservice operations. The company has also taken a partnership position in Preferred Brands Inc., a fresh-cut processor in Orlando.

"We were buying from Preferred and had a great relationship," Roberts explains. "Understanding the advantage of offering a full line of pre-cuts when making presentations, along with the advantage of processing fruit and vegetables separately, the ideal decision was to join forces. Between Incredible Fresh and Preferred Brands we can serve both segments of the industry, retail and foodservice."

"Outstanding Growth Potential"
Currently retail customers in Miami, Naples, Orlando, Tampa and other areas make up about 20 percent of the business at Incredible Fresh, according to Eddy. The rest is made up of foodservice establishments such as large hotels, resorts, schools, hospitals and theme parks, but both areas look promising for the future, he says. "I believe Florida has outstanding growth potential for pre-cut vegetables and even more so for fresh-cut fruit."

While it may be slow getting started, fresh-cut is definitely coming to Florida’s retail food industry and prospects for the near future are just the beginning, according to both Roberts and Eddy.

One major retail chain is rolling out fresh specialty peppers in clamshells in the Miami area and is expected to do the same at all of its Florida locations within the upcoming year, according to Roberts. "It’s very exciting," he adds. "It takes them out of the bulk pepper business."

Fresh-cut fruit is another area where growth is waiting in the wings, according to Eddy

"We are currently building a retail program for fresh-cut fruit for several large supermarkets," he points out. "Our product will be in those stores soon."

Roberts notes it would be the first aggressive attempt by a major supermarket chain to move the actual cutting of product completely out of the store. He predicts, however, that it’s inevitable for supermarkets to see the advantage of bringing clean, sealed packages into their stores rather than juggling the many operations involved with safe processing of fruit in the back room.

Fruit for Breakfast
In the foodservice arena, times are changing, too. Factors such as labor and space savings are helping operators realize the benefits of off-site fruit and vegetable processing.

"Several restaurant chains here have taken a new approach to increasing their sales," Eddy explains. "They have started serving breakfast. Ordinarily the up-scale restaurants here in Naples do not serve breakfast. I have been asked to supply many with fresh-cut fruit. Some use the fruit as a side dish with each meal, while others use it as a garnish.

"The breakfast program began about three months ago and the growth looks promising. We are supplying them with cut melons, golden-ripe pineapples and topped strawberries. Successful deliveries of sliced kiwifruit and cut mangoes make those items promising additions to our line. We’ve also developed a fresh-cut apple achieving 10 days or more of shelf life without oxidation and without the use of citric acid. The advantage of not using citric acid is the absence of a tart flavor. Following a year of research we feel this item would be excellent for foodservice or retail."

Careful research and development is a key factor in successful product introduction, according to Eddy. Any product offering must be backed up with excellent raw product that has been properly grown and handled up to the day of processing.

"The direction we chose prior to the launch of our new business was not to pressure ourselves by acquiring a large amount of business too quickly," Eddy reasons. "We wanted to do our homework prior to introducing these delicate items to our potential customers.

Be Sure You’re Right
"You don’t want to go out with a product and hope you’re doing everything right. Each product is unique and you need to understand its potentials as well as its limitations before introduction. Being able to predict how the product will react under any circumstances aids in training and successful product introduction."

Eddy has established an in-house laboratory and has taken training programs at Silliker Laboratories Group, Inc. in Chicago to extend his knowledge of the technical aspects of processing, food safety and quality assurance.

"We’ve invested a large amount of time educating our customers on proper storage and handling of products," he adds. "Each success adds confidence to the market on the transition to fresh-cut."

Fresh-cut tomatoes represent a learning curve of about five years, according to Eddy. Each step of the program is critical and should be viewed separately with an eye toward improvement.

"There’s a lot of excitement about sliced and diced tomatoes." He explains. "One very exclusive restaurant uses sliced romas. They want them cut lengthwise to place on pizzas. We’re finding that there is a large demand for sliced tomatoes in a variety of sizes."

Start with the Best
Quality sliced and diced tomatoes start with the best fresh tomatoes, according to Eddy. He says one tomato supplier actually provides "double-graded" tomatoes for his processing operation.

"First of all, tomatoes have to be the right color," he points out. "No one wants a tomato that has any green, however if you process a tomato that exceeds a certain color or ripeness, the shelf life will be compromised. Because of the critical issues surrounding color and raw product quality, our specs have very tight boundaries. Our tomato supplier grades our tomatoes and ships daily, six times a week."

Once tomatoes arrive, they are introduced to cold temperatures for 12 to 14 hours prior to processing. Eddy exposes them to ultraviolet light with a unit manufactured by CVP Systems, Inc., helping to reduce bacteria levels.

Initial control of bacteria helps extend tomato shelf life, but even then, if fresh-cut tomatoes are not properly packaged, problems with product longevity can result. One packaging system Eddy works with is a special thermoformed plastic tray from Maxwell Chase Technologies that has built-in depressions or wells in the bottom panel. The wells are covered with material that allows juice to pass through and contact a super-absorbent material that discourages bacterial growth.

Fighting the Juice
"Anyone in the produce processing industry understands juice from fruit or tomatoes is an excellent media for bacteria reproduction," Eddy states. "With this type of package, the juice is trapped separately in the lower part of the tray, resulting in a drier product. In the past we have successfully used their absorbent pads. This tray adds convenience and reduces labor costs by removing the step of manually placing the pad into the tray."

As for any processing operation dealing with major retail and foodservice customers, Incredible Fresh has an approved HACCP program and processes in a clean-room environment. Both Incredible Fresh and Preferred Brands are ASI and AIB regulated and have received excellent scores.

"We swab our equipment, employees’ hands, tables, drains, and floors to ensure proper sanitation has been achieved," Eddy explains. "That is very important. You cannot have high bacteria counts anywhere in the process if you expect to achieve maximum results when dealing with these sensitive products.

"We also have a refrigerated dock. Our processing room is kept at 36 to 38 degrees at all times. We deliver our product in company-owned refrigerated trucks to maintain the cold chain."

Incredible Fresh also enjoys the advantage of purchasing produce as a member of Pro*Act LLC. Jack Roberts is an executive board member and was the 13th member to join the group.

© 2003 Columbia Publishing

Selling Your Company's Core Vision

Fresh Cut
March 2000

Your company’s core vision — understanding what makes your products successful in consumer’s minds — is the key to successful branding, packaging, marketing and advertising, according to a market researcher who studies why — not just what — people buy.

"Often this core vision is assigned to an advertising agency to define," says Dr. Margaret J. King, director of Philadelphia-based Cultural Studies & Analysis. "But the company should really own it. Then they can go to any agency and say, ‘This is what we know is important to our customers. Show us a new and exciting way to get it across to the people who can use our product.’

"Instead, ad agencies sit around and stare at the product and say, ‘How can we make this interesting?’ They often focus on the detail that’s easy for them to illustrate but may have nothing to do with the product’s value. That’s why people remember the punch lines from clever ads, but they don’t always remember the product the ad was trying to sell."

How can a company find out what their product represents in the mind of the consumer? It all boils down to understanding what business you’re really in, according to King. You must understand clearly what need your product fills for end users.

Consumers Buy Symbols
"We had a national jewelry chain whose advertising promoted technical details of their merchandise such as carat weight and cut," King elaborates. "That seemed logical to them, because that’s how jewelers buy diamonds. They knew too much about the subject and it got in the way of seeing the need they were filling,

"Consumers aren’t buying carat weight or cut. They are buying a symbol of their relationship. We worked with their ad agency to promote the value of relationships, not carats, and sales went up 18 percent."

To further illustrate her point, King recounted an experience with a pest exterminator that hung a large tag on the couple’s front door as a signal to drivers that nobody was home.

" We came back from a long business trip. We had stopped the mail, put the lights on a timer and had friends pick up packages, but we forgot one thing: the extermina