Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/393613
P ro d u c e S h o w D a i l y 8 5 Fri d a y, O c to b e r 1 7 , 2 0 1 4 SK: DFA of California was founded in 1908. Originally our acronym DFA stood for Dried Fruit Association. Today our association has evolved to service not only the entire dried fruit and nut indus- try but also industries of kindred agricul- tural products such as fresh fruits and vegetables. We are the go-to company for food safety services including training, consulting, laboratory testing by our ISO 17025 accredited laboratories, commodi- ty inspection, research and arbitration. Safe food is our business. PSD: What is your main line of busi- ness? SK: We are a technical service organiza- tion focused on addressing the needs of a rapidly growing industry. With ever growing expectations for companies to be more proactive in their approach to food safety and quality practices, we offer our services to packers, processors and exporters to aid them in their efforts to maintain the highest standards in food safety and quality. DFA services include GMP audits, food safety training and consulting, analytical services by our ISO 17025 accredited laboratories, com- modity inspections and arbitration. PSD: What would you say makes your company so unique? SK: We are very fortunate to have serviced and supported these industries for more than a century. Our specialty is food safety and quality and we emphasize excellent customer service and strong community cooperation in everything we do. In our efforts to give back to the industry and the DFA of California ( Cont'd. from p. 1) community, we started The DFA Scholarship Foundation two years ago to promote higher education for students with an interest in food science or agribusiness. In addition to our scholarship fund, we also host Safe Food California, an annual food safety conference, launching in 2015. Safe Food California will emphasize education, training and provide a premier venue for networking. PSD: You mentioned food safety training and consulting. What sort of training and consulting do you offer? SK: We offer introduction to HACCP and Advanced HACCP, BRC version 6, Implementing SQF Food Safety Management System version 7.2 and Internal Auditor public training. In addition to these trainings, we also offer custom training programs to meet individual needs, such as recall readiness, employee GMP training and environmental monitoring. Our consulting services assist com- panies with the implementation of the following programs: BRC, SQF, GMP and HACCP. This process includes a GAP analysis of a company's current process, and the drafting of detailed doc- uments in accordance with the program standards. PSD: How can readers find out more about your company? SK: By visiting our website at www.dfaofca.com. Or by contacting us via email at contact@dfaofca.com. For more information, visit www.dfaofca.com, call 916-561-5900, email contact@dfaofca.com or stop by booth #2179. DNE is the largest marketer of fresh Florida citrus. The Florida citrus season runs from October through May. Kevin Swords, DNE's Florida Program Manager, thinks the crop looks a lot better than last year and feels that with all the rain we've had this summer we should have some good size to start off with but there will still be plenty of smaller fruit for bagging when we hit the January peak season period. With the abundant rain and hot temperatures this summer, we should have good brix levels to start out with too. Unfortunately, the tangerine crops will be down compared to last year but on juice oranges we should see better siz- ing with good brix and juice yields throughout all the varieties. "We are pretty optimistic about this season overall even with all the industry challenges we have dealing with the greening." For the coming 2014-2015 citrus season, DNE will offer all of its staple citrus varieties, including: Tangerines: Fall-glos will be avail- able in late September and sizing is expected to be good. Peak promotion periods begin in mid-October. Sunburst tangerines usually start in early November and run through December. Welcome in the New Year with DNE Honey Tangerines from mid-January through March. Juice Oranges: Juice oranges will start in late September with Ambersweets and then move into Hamlins. The peak promotion period will be late October thru December. Nova/ Orlando Tangelos: Tangelo season begins around mid-November and stretches through December. Grapefruit: The season will run from DNE World Fruit ( Cont'd. from p. 1) early/mid October to mid-May with peak promotion period on Red Grapefruit from Thanksgiving to March while the Star Red Grapefruit will start in December. Sizing should be larger than last year to start off but will peak in late Dec /January on smaller sizes for bag promotions. Navels: Volumes will be very limit- ed this year but we expect to start ship- ping mid/late Oct. through December. DNE's first Spanish Clementine's are scheduled to arrive to the States before Thanksgiving week of November 16. "This is 1-2 weeks later than usual," said John Lazopoulos, DNE's Spanish Program Manager, "because we will not be importing the early Marisol variety this season. We will start with the Arrufatina's, and Clemenpons and then move right to the Nules variety." DNE's Spanish Clementine program runs from November through the end of January. John Lazopoulos commented that this year Spain has had ideal growing conditions and all indications are that we will have very good quality, color and siz- ing along with that perfect Mediterranean Taste that consumers love. DNE will continue to pack the fruit in the tradition- al 5-pound "Ocean Spray" Box along with 3-pound and 2-pound bags. "We are also looking forward to growing our Moroccan program this year" he went on to say, "but limiting arrivals to those varieties that have supe- rior taste and can make good arrivals to offer our core accounts here in the states." The Moroccan program will run from mid-December through the middle of April with key varieties of Nadorcotts. Murcots will be arriving towards the end. For more information, visit www.dneworld.com, call 800-327-6676 or stop by booth #3602. wear the prestigious Heart Check on their packaging. This certification supports what many in the pecan industry have known for years. Pecans are not just deli- cious, but they're also very good for you. This certification comes on the heels of more praise for pecans. Pecans are recognized as having more antioxi- dants than any other nuts and are one of the top 20 of all foods. They say good things come in threes – with pecans, it is certainly no different. Pecan-enriched diets have proven to be a good way to significantly reduce LDL (bad) choles- terol levels. Most people want to eat healthier, but many fail to do so simply because healthy choices often require sacrificing taste. With pecans, there is no tradeoff. You get the best of both worlds: a healthy Harrell Nut Company ( Cont'd. from p. 1) option that truly tastes great. Harrell Nut Company, located in booth #1502, offers pecans in a variety of packaging options that will cater to any need you may have. It offers products in bulk and a variety of retail-sized pack- ages. With each option, they now come power packed with the American Heart Association's Heart Healthy Check certi- fication. Harrell Nut Company is also the only commercial pecan sheller with pro- cessing plants in the heart of both major producing regions in North America, which allows them to offer regional spe- cific product while saving you time and money on transportation. Call Harrell Nut Company today at 800- 526-8770 or visit at www.harrellnut.com. Stop by booth #1502 at Fresh Summit and speak to Brandon Harrell. GG: We are one of the original modi- fied atmosphere products to reach the produce and flower industry. Our prod- uct has been used for maintaining shelf life during storage and transportation of produce and flowers since 1993. We were ahead of our times back then and have since improved our manufacturing to withstand the shipping challenges around the world. For example, our new vented carton liner and vented pallet cover is perfect for countries with trans- portation issues and who do not have pre-cooling abilities. Our product now allows them to withstand temperature variations during shipping and long bor- der crossings due to inspections. This new box liner and pallet cover allows produce to cool back down if the cold chain breaks without creating condensa- tion. This is a win-win for grower-ship- pers and eliminates costly rejections. We continue to sell our non-vented products that are used when cold chain breaks are not an issue. PSD: What do you anticipate to be your greatest challenge in the year ahead? GG: Well, with drought issue in California, we should see more product coming from Mexico, Central and South America. When produce travels from dis- tant places, it's necessary to use PEAKfresh in order to maintain fresh- ness and shelf life. We are prepared to supply them products at low costs to accomplish the long travel time periods. PSD: What distinguishes your products from the competition? GG: Our cost! PEAKfresh is made in California, so our customers do not PEAKfreshUSA ( Cont'd. from p. 1) incur higher shipping prices for prod- uct while allowing them to achieve the added value needed. We have also teamed up with major packaging sup- pliers in other countries that stock our products, giving grower-shippers the ability to purchase in smaller quantities when needed. PSD: Compare the position of your prod- ucts and their technology against the cur- rent market. GG: Today's retailers are demanding that vendors supply them with produce that will stay longer on the shelf. This is dif- ficult to achieve with produce coming from distant places not using modified atmosphere protection. So, it's important that they use products like PEAKfresh. It is also required that grower-shippers sup- ply these products at no extra cost to the retailers, therefore, cutting into their profits. When they use PEAKfresh prod- ucts, it's like adding an insurance policy that their produce will arrive at its desti- nation in the same shape that it left. As long as it was in good shape then, it will be in good shape at arrival! PSD: Who are your target end users? GG: Growers, shippers, packers, re- packers and now with our reusable home use pack, retailers can sell this item at store level and allow their customers to achieve longer shelf life form the pro- duce they purchase. This will allow end user to purchase larger quantities of pro- duce every time they go to the store. It's a win-win for everyone. For more information, stop by booth #1168, visit www.peakfreshusa.com, call 877-537-3748 or email sales@ peakfreshusa.com.