March/April 2023 - 4

THE PROCESS
MEL INDA WALDROP
Vol. 9, No. 2
Navigating normal
It's hard to believe it's been three years since the
world stopped.
A lot has changed since February 2020, when
the COVID-19 pandemic first took deadly hold in
the U.S. A lot of that change has been devastating,
beginning with the millions of lives lost and trickling
down to shuttered businesses and altered realities.
Some of the change has been, hopefully, for the
Melinda Waldrop
Managing Editor
better, as people and companies find different, more
workable ways of doing business and adapting to
those new realities. Some changes are permanent,
etched in our minds and psyches, while others are already beginning
to fade into the fog of memory.
This issue of Produce Processing takes a look at how the pandemic
changed - and is still changing - processing facilities, from prices
and products to labor and equipment. We conducted a survey of readers
to assess the new landscape and received responses from across the
nation sharing the impact of the pandemic on their companies, ranging
from mom-and-pop operations to larger corporations. While the
respondents, as well as an international supply chain expert, shared
common experiences, it's clear that there are no uniform answers,
and that the ramifications from the pandemic are still playing out, in
domestic facilities and in foreign ports and everywhere in between,
three years later.
In the continued spirit of change, this issue also examines ongoing
innovation, from state-of-the-art washing line technology debuted at
this year's Fruit Logistica in Berlin to revolutionary new packaging
changing the way the world ships - and thinks - about wine. The
founder and CEO of an outside-the-box wine packaging company
shares how innovative bottle design can benefit wine aficionados
as well as Mother Earth.
Readers can also take an in-depth dive into the benefits of steam
peeling and learn how a new farm is incorporating produce safety
tenants into its operations from the ground up.
As we all assess how our lives have changed in the past three years,
let's take a breath and take stock of where we are and what we've
learned. Thanks for taking Produce Processing along on your journey.
Office 616-887-9008
Editorial
Managing Editor Melinda Waldrop, 616-520-2158
mwaldrop@greatamericanpublish.com
Editorial Director Debbie Eisele, 616-520-2160
deisele@greatamericanpublish.com
Advertising Sales
Associate Publisher Andrea Schafer, 616-520-2139
prosales@produceprocessing.net
Account Specialist Kim Meyers, 616-520-2137
kmeyers@greatamericanpublish.com
Production
Senior Graphic Greg Ryan, 616-520-2145
Designer proproduction@produceprocessing.net
Associate Amanda Mackey, 616-520-2157
Creative Director amackey@greatamericanpublish.com
Creative Director Allison McKenzie, 616-520-2142
amckenzie@greatamericanpublish.com
Circulation
Circulation Becky Stovall, 616-520-2138
circulation@produceprocessing.net
Corporate
CEO & Publisher Matt McCallum, 616-520-2133
publisher@produceprocessing.net
COO & CMO Kimberly Baker, 616-520-2135
kbaker@greatamericanpublish.com
CFO Deb Carnes, 616-520-2169
dcarnes@greatamericanpublish.com
Editorial Advisory Board
Adrienne Seiling, American Frozen Food Institute
Rudi Groppe, Heinzen Manufacturing International
Lou Cooperhouse, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
Sherrie Rosenblatt, Can Manufacturers Institute
Leonard Batti, Taylor Farms, Salinas, California
ISSN 2375-3447
Editorial and advertising offices at Great American Media Services,
a division of Great American Publishing, P.O. Box 128, Sparta, MI 49345
Phone: 616-887-9008
Printed six times a year in the U.S.A. Copyright 2023
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Email me at:
mwaldrop@greatamericanpublish.com
The opinions and views expressed by authors, contributors and advertisers in
Produce Processing do not necessarily reflect those of the editors and publisher.
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or services. Great American Media Services and Produce Processing accepts
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44 MARCH/APR I L 2 023
March/April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2023
