January/February 2024 - 26

NEWS
+
INDUSTRY
INSIDER
New alliance to address food packaging regulations
Industry organizations from around the world have formed a
new alliance aimed at achieving sustainability in food packaging
without compromising on food safety while continuing to minimize
environmental impact.
The Alliance for Sustainable Packaging for Foods (ASPF) brings
together nonprofit and non-governmental groups to engage with
regulators and governments, according to a news release. The ASPF
will prioritize engagement with ongoing negotiations in the EU on
the revision of applicable packaging and packaging waste rules as
well as packaging-related regulatory developments in Canada.
An Environment and Climate Change Canada directive aims to
eliminate plastic packaging in produce sold in that country by 95%
by 2028. Last November, IFPA CEO Cathy Burns and Vonnie Estes,
IFPA vice president of innovation, attended a roundtable meeting
with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss how that
pending change might affect U.S. and Canadian consumer food
affordability.
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Calavo Growers explores sale of business unit
Calavo Growers is exploring the sale of its fresh-cut business to
focus on its core avocado and guacamole offerings.
The potential sale, to F&S Fresh Foods, has a total transaction
value of approximately $100 million, according to a news release.
Calavo has signed a non-binding letter of intent.
" Since I returned to Calavo as CEO in March, we have renewed
our focus on our core avocado and guacamole businesses to
maximize profitability, and I am pleased with the progress we have
made, " Lee E. Cole, Calavo president and CEO, said in the Jan.
16 release. " To dedicate more focus to our core and to maximize
shareholder value, we have been exploring strategic alternatives for
our Fresh Cut Business, previously known as RFG. "
Closing is anticipated in the second fiscal quarter of 2024,
according to the release.
Founded in 1924 and headquartered in Santa Paula, California,
Calavo sells fresh-cut fruit, vegetables and prepared foods.
The company has processing plants and packing facilities
throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
F&S Fresh Foods, headquartered in Vineland, New Jersey,
California citrus grower joins traceability network
Kings River Packing, a California-based eighth-generation citrus
grower and distributor, has joined ReposiTrak's Traceability Network
ahead of the January 2026 deadline for compliance with the Food
and Drug Administration's Food Traceability Final Rule.
ReposiTrak, a global food traceability and regulatory compliance
network, said the company is the first citrus company to use the
network, which provides quick, easy exchange of FDA-required Key
Data Elements for each Critical Tracking Event in the supply chain,
according to a news release.
distributes fresh-cut fruits and vegetables to nearly 100 million
customers daily, according to its website, and processes more than
100 million pounds of produce annually for retail, food service and
industrial customers.
IFPA issues call to help preserve WIC benefits
The International Fresh Produce Association is calling on its members
to act to protect the fruit and vegetable benefit in USDA's WIC program.
The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and
Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental
foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income
pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum
women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be
at nutritional risk.
According to IFPA, funding for fruits and vegetables could be at
Citrus fruits were excluded from the initial Food Traceability List
(FTL) and are therefore not yet covered under the law, but Kings River
Packing saw advantages to joining ReposiTrak now.
" The traceability initiative for us became an opportunity to meet
and exceed the expectations of our customers, and to proactively
prepare for future regulatory requirements, " Brent Simon, director
of food safety for Kings River Packing, said in the release.
26 JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2 024
risk in a congressional vote on a long-term federal spending package.
Without full funding, the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit in the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
could be slashed by 70% for women and 56% for kids, bringing the
allotment down to $13 and $11 a month for fruits and vegetables,
the organization said in a statement.
That would translate to a more than $1 billion cut in retail
produce sales, according to the statement.
The organization has launched an ad campaign aimed at
preserving the fruit and vegetable benefit and is asking members to
share the video ad, which can be viewed at https://ifpa.quorum.us/
campaign/48991/
http://www.produceprocessing.net https://ifpa.quorum.us/
January/February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2024
