Produce

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) announced the winners of its exclusive Expert Panel tastings held October 15th at PMA Fresh Summit in Atlanta. Among the three varieties tested by the experts, Dulcinea Farms’ PureHeart ® mini seedless watermelon came out on top. Among the three varieties of grape tomatoes tasted, Red Diamond Farms’ (a division of Tomato Thyme Corporation) grape tomatoes were deemed the tastiest. …

One of the beautiful facets of The New York Produce Show and Conference is that it draws on the great centers of learning in the region to create a workshop program that is both informative and useful. This year we have a St. Joseph’s faculty member working at the conflux of marketing, functional foods and public health. We asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to find out more from Dr. Neal H. Hooker, CJ McNutt Professor of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph’s University. …

YottaMark, Inc., the leader in traceability and authentication solutions, announced today that its subsidiary HarvestMark de México has partnered with GS1 México to provide fresh produce traceability expertise and best practice training to Mexican grower/shippers and exporters. GS1 will unveil the Fresh Produce Traceability Center of Excellence, a state-of-the-art educational center that provides traceability training and demonstrations in the GS1 knowledge center located in Mexico City. …

South African Midknight Oranges are in such high demand by importers and retail stores across the U.S. that special arrangements had to be made to discharge the vessel in off hours. www.summercitrus.com. Working with the shipping partner Seatrade as well as the Holt Terminal in Gloucester City, N.J., the vessel, Cool Express, was discharged over a weekend to enable the product to be received as soon as achievable on grocery shelves. …

Temkin’s modified atmosphere packaging technology is now available in single layer wicketed bags, enabling customers to extend the shelf life of additional produce items. …