Latest News From Foodservice

Commodity boards, councils and commissions representing fresh produce from avocados to mushrooms to watermelon are running promotional activities aimed at foodservice this summer. Here’s a look at some of them.

MONTEREY, Calif. — Education sessions during the 2018 PMA Foodservice Conference and Expo tackled challenges facing foodservice operators and produce suppliers and offered suggestions on how to combat those obstacles.

MONTEREY, Calif. — The 2018 PMA Foodservice Conference and Expo drew rave reviews from exhibitors.

As sales of avocados has risen rapidly at U.S. retailers in recent years, restaurants are also seeing demand rise.

Mann Packing Co., Salinas, Calif., recently hired Lawrence Henrard as vice president of operations, Bob Licker as regional sales manager and Jeff Hutterer as regional business manager.

Lipman Family Farms, known as a major supplier of field-grown tomatoes, is leveraging its foodservice distribution network to supply greenhouse tomatoes from NatureSweet to quick-service restaurants.

This may be the 37th edition of the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo, but the foodservice industry has learned over the years that the conference is never a same-old same-old event.

Chicken-centric meal kits will soon be available from 150 Chick-fil-A locations.

Salinas, Calif.-based Mann Packing plans to feature three new products at the upcoming PMA Foodservice Expo.

Health officials have added more than 100 illnesses to the cyclospora outbreak linked to McDonald’s salads, bringing the total number of cases to 163.

Limoneira Co. offers customized promotions for its foodservice customers as well as a 12-month promotion calendar.

Orlando, Fla.-based Spice World Inc. expected a “good harvest with good yields” from its California garlic program that started in mid-June.

After 17 years at City of Industry-based FreshPoint Southern California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sysco Corp., president Verne Lusby retired July 1.

Most produce suppliers and even those in the restaurant industry are pleased with the FDA's regulation requiring many restaurants and retail food establishments to show calorie counts on menus and menu boards.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Fresh Produce & Floral Council’s Southern California Expo July 17 featured the annual “Buz” Bolstad Award presentation and a sold-out expo floor with more than 200 booths.

The Food and Drug Administration is working to determine which ingredient in McDonald’s salads is the vehicle for a multistate cyclospora outbreak.

Many produce companies that supply foodservice customers see demand decrease somewhat during the summertime, depending on their location and customer base.

Los Angeles-based 4Earth Farms added two kinds of organic chili peppers to its product line.

Sanwa Food Group, a produce-heavy foodservice distribution company serving the Florida and Georgia markets, has joined the Boise, Idaho-based Golbon foodservice distributor network.

The Center for Growing Talent wants attendees at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Expo in Monterey, Calif., to have fun for a good cause.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to buy $3 million worth of red potatoes to help alleviate low prices in the market.

Monterey, Calif.-based distributor Pro*Act has created a website designed to encourage chefs to feature produce in their dishes.

Bourdain expanded our interest not only in food and other cultures, but also the unseen heroes in the restaurant kitchens that prep the food, prepare our meals, wash the dishes and mop the floors.

Quick-service restaurant Wendy’s will soon be sourcing only vine-ripened, greenhouse-grown tomatoes for its U.S. and Canada locations.

California Giant Berry Farms has chosen the five chefs who will compete in the company’s first Chef Invitational.

Attendees to the United Fresh Produce Association Expo are invited to connect with dozens of school foodservice buyers at the Fresh Festival for School Foodservice on Tuesday, June 26 at McCormick Place in Chicago. 

MONTEREY, California — Meal kit business continues to grow for HelloFresh and the company’s attention on packaging needs is growing along with it.

The Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association has named this year's eight winners of the Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards.

A company’s DNA can’t be measured with a blood test or saliva sample. Rather, it’s measured in actions by its people from the C-suite to the front lines.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently hosted a roundtable about reducing food waste, and it seems to me the produce industry could be a significant contributor to future talks on the topic.

Berries have become a foodservice favorite as their availability grows and chefs discover new uses for the tasty fruit, grower-shippers say.

Ken Barbic, former senior director of federal governmental affairs for Western Growers, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s senior director of federal governmental affairs.

Former United Fresh Produce Association vice president Jeff Oberman has joined Pro*Act as vice president of strategic programs.

The James Beard Foundation has tweaked its Blended Burger Project competition format as it gears up for the fourth annual showdown this summer.

Vidalia onions are primarily a retail item, but suppliers aren’t counting out foodservice completely.

The British Columbia Produce Marketing Association held its 19th annual Healthy Chef Competition & Dinner in March, in partnership with the British Columbia Chef’s Association.

As consumer demand for avocados surges, so does their popularity among foodservice operators.

Eight chefs and foodservice personnel from across the country have been chosen to be honored for innovation through the United Fresh Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program.

Pizza delivery has been common for decades, but today pizza is peanuts compared to the countless options available via third-party delivery apps like UberEATS, DoorDash and Postmates.

Taylor Farms Foodservice has recalled diced onions after a random test in a single finished package detected salmonella.

National editor Tom Karst and staff writer Ashley Nickle discuss the Buy American provision for school lunches and the implications for produce; the latest developments for NAFTA; and changes for Columbine Vineyards.

This episode of Packer TV covers likely retaliation against U.S. produce exports as a result of Trump's metal tariffs, as well as Sonic's nationwide launch of its mushroom-meat blended burger. 

Count me in for The Blend.

Fresh Solutions Network, which markets Side Delights potatoes, is providing consumers with creative recipe ideas to fit with brunch, which Mintel called out as a top food trend again for 2018.

A new culinary competition is coming to California, focused on berries and hosted by Watsonville-based California Giant Berry Farms.

Designer Amelia Freidline and staff writer Ashley Nickle test out the new Signature Slinger from Sonic, which developed with the Mushroom Council a burger patty that is about 75% meat and 25% mushrooms.

After successful market testing, Sonic Drive-In’s blended mushroom burger, dubbed the Signature Slinger, will be available at the company’s 3,500 U.S. locations for seven weeks.

GreenGate Fresh has added a coleslaw kit for foodservice customers.

US Foods, Rosemont, Ill., highlights 26 new products from its Serve Good program in the spring issue of Scoop, its product innovation magazine.

Scan women’s online dating profiles — which I have done as a recently single man — and you will be struck with the commonalities.