Brooks Tropicals fills food safety position
Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals LLC has hired Clara Sarmiento to lead its food safety program, said Mary Ostlund, marketing director.
Sarmiento oversees the company’s food safety initiatives worldwide, Ostlund said.
Sarmiento, who was an assistant to company owner Pal Brooks, has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Pontificia Javerianan University of Cali, Colombia, and a master’s in business administration in international business from St. John’s University, New York.
Center for Produce Safety wants proposals
The Center for Produce Safety, Davis, Calif., is scheduled to issue its annual call for research proposals Feb. 1, said Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive director.
The center anticipates having $2.5 million to $3 million in grant money available for research projects, Fernandez-Fenaroli said.
Grants are awarded in late summer.
“I expect we’ll have, in addition to core research questions that can pretty much apply to any crops, we’ll have specific commodity questions on mangoes, leafy greens, pistachios, tree fruit and cantaloupes,” Fernandez-Fenaroli said.
The center will have its annual symposium June 24-25 at Wegmans Conference Center in Rochester, N.Y.
It will be the first time the program is two days, Fernandez-Fenaroli said.
It’s also the first time that it will be held in a northern region of the U.S., Fernandez-Fenaroli said.
FoodLink buys Truetrac, signs new customer
Los Gatos, Calif.-based traceability service provider FoodLink, which in November acquired another Web-based tracking company, TrueTrac, announced Jan. 7 that it had signed Florida-based fresh berry distributor Dave’s Specialty Imports to its network.
“We looked at other solutions, but FoodLink stood out as the most flexible, cost-effective way for us to connect with our growers in Central and South America, and to achieve our goals in terms of labeling and traceability,” Mike Bowe, Dave’s Specialty Imports’ vice president, said in a news release.
FoodLink’s acquisition of TrueTrac has created a Web-based network directly linking information from a field all the way through packing, shipping and purchasing by retail category managers, ultimately bringing full visibility to shoppers in the store, said Kevin Brooks, FoodLink’s chief marketing officer.
Kwik Lok closures pair with inkjet printer
Yakima, Wash.-based Kwik Lok Corp. now is working with printer manufacturer Squid Ink to market the 901 Auto Print, an inkjet printer that will pair with Kiwk Lok closures, said Hal Miller, vice president of sales for Kwik Lok.
“The burden is put on the grower-packer-shipper with all that traceability information, and we’re trying to make it as easy as possible for them to apply the requirements to our Kwik Lok closure or closure label,” Miller said.
The 901 printer is ideally mated with the company’s closures, he said.
“You can put a 2-deep bar code or any information on our Kwik Lok closure,” he said.
The product debuted at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit last fall in Anaheim, Calif.
New Limeco develops label system
Princeton, Fla.-based grower-packer-shipper New Limeco LLC, is working to keep in step with the Produce Traceability Initiative, said Don Edgar, operations manager.
“We’re in the process of developing a labeling system that literally uses a process of bar codes and serialized labels which will identify, down to the pallet, every particular item that we carry,” he said.
RedLine Solutions working on interface
Santa Clara, Calif.-based RedLine Solutions Inc., which helps its customers integrate tracking technology systems, is now working with Englewood, Colo.-based Junction Solutions to develop an interface to integrate their software products to allow produce companies to more easily trace products.
RedLine spokeswoman Audren Van Normal said the interface integrates RedLine Field with Junction Solutions’ JunctionFB product. It is expected to be available by midyear.
RedLine is sponsoring “Building the Traceability Bridge,” a Web seminar to explain the integration, as well as review PTI requirements and best practices, Jan. 23.
ScoringAg technology helps with verification
Venice, Fla.-based ScoringAg, a global traceback and real-time record-keeping system, is using “electronic machine tele-metry” in technology that assists clients with procedure verification, said William Kanitz, the data keeper’s founder.
“How do you verify that I went on the packing line myself and I need to have proof positive in a court of law that I sanitized that line with what and how much? We’ve got that technology now, and it will be part of the database,” he said.
SCS Global Services harmonizes marks
Audit service provider Emeryville, Calif.-based SCS Global Services, formerly Scientific Certification Systems, now is using the Kingfisher brand on all of its certification marks, said Chip Wood, marketing specialist.
“All of our certification marks looked different from one another, so we now have the Kingfisher brand that goes with all our public-facing marks and labels,” he said.
The company also will begin offering GlobalGAP — Option 2 to growers in the second quarter of this year, said Nova Sayers, business development director.
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