HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — Miedema Produce Inc. is rolling out new value-added radish packs and has increased its celery acreage and hired a new grower liaison/food safety specialist.
The company’s new radish matchstick and radish chip packs were set to appear on retail shelves by late May or early June, said Todd Miedema, marketing director and a principal.
The matchsticks are 1½-inches long and are perfect for salads, sandwiches and stir fries, Miedema said. The chips have ridges for holding dips.
The items will be sold in 8-ounce retail bags, and will also be perfect fits for vegetable trays, he said. Some tray makers shun whole radishes because it takes many consumers multiple bites to handle the intense flavor.
“We’re going back after that space on trays,” Miedema said.
Also new at Miedema Produce, the company has added two new celery growers, boosting its 2012 acreage by about 35% over 2011, Miedema said.
The expansion will help the company better supply its big customers, and provide a diversity of supply, with product now coming from four different farms, he said.
New this season at Miedema Produce is Bill Steenwyk, hired to succeed Sam Scholtens as grower liaison. Scholtens retired after a long tenure at the company.
In addition to helping growers, Steenwyk, a former Michigan State University extension agent, will provide food safety training.
“We’re happy with where we’re at, but we want to be on the cutting edge all the time,” Miedema said of the company’s decision to expand its grower liaison’s job duties to include food safety. “Bill has a background in biology. He brings a lot of credentials to the table.”
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