Priceless: Input from experts
I recently had the opportunity to visit Turatti International outside of Venice, Italy. Having met Turatti North America President Alessandro Turatti briefly at United Fresh in Dallas, otherwise corresponding by email as most of us do in this far-flung universe of ours, going there was a wonderful opportunity to see the story of his family’s company brought to life. We’ll bring you that story in our September issue, and plan to present other case studies and profiles in subsequent issues.
Meanwhile, Alessandro also is a member of our magazine’s advisory board. I’ve only been editor here for a few months and am hungry for input and ideas as we shape the direction of future coverage. I appreciated his thoughts about broadening our international coverage, given the global nature of the fresh-cut produce industry, and will be looking for more ways to do that going forward.
A few weeks ago, I also had a chance to catch up with Dennis Gertmenian, another member of our advisory board, who is founder, retired CEO and current board member of Ready Pac. He shared some of his thoughts on what some of the most pressing topics in fresh cut are today.
We talked about recalls and companies’ policies when it comes to who absorbs the cost of calling back all of that product.
Tying in with that, he suggested that food safety presents endless opportunities for coverage — at every stage of the supply chain. Dennis also brought up the idea of using hold and release as part of a food safety process in fresh-cut processing, and looking into the pros and cons of that.
Coincidentally, in our June freshCuts e-newsletter, we did a Q&A with Will Daniels, senior vice president of quality, food safety and organic integrity at Earthbound Farm. His company uses two test-and-hold phases — as product comes in and again before it leaves — and he says it’s the best thing they ever did. If you didn’t see the interview, visit Freshcut.com and click on the e-newsletter link.
Sourcing raw materials is another area that is ripe for coverage, Dennis suggested.
“In the olden days when we first started, it was iceberg lettuce, then iceberg lettuce and more iceberg lettuce — and cabbage,” he said. “Today it’s so diverse.”
Sourcing also applies to transportation, which sometimes can cost more than the product itself.
Especially for someone who is new to the industry as I am, it’s wonderful to be able to consult such experts for information and insight. And always, if you have ideas and suggestions, please send them my way.
–Kathy Gibbons, editorial director
