Latest News From COVID-19

Retailers learned some valuable lessons about the need to stay flexible, the importance of putting the employee and customer safety first, and the critical role supermarkets serve in times of crisis.

Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix has donated more than 50 million pounds of produce as part of its initiative to support farmers and food banks in the Southeast.

iFoodDS has partnered with Cornell University to offer a no-cost modeling tool for companies in the food industry, according to a news release.

The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) has partnered with longtime member Labormex to locate CDC/WHO approved vaccines in Mexico for H-2A Temporary Workers.

While New York alone can’t solve supply chain disruptions caused by global shipping delays, the state can adopt policies and make investments that help grow the local farm and food system, one expert said.

“I wouldn't be surprised as we put Omicron behind us that we're going to see a restaurant recovery in the summer. But right now the supermarket is still doing quite well on a historical basis," says Michael Swanson.

Welcome to winter 2022: Empty grocery shelves are back, and staffing is reduced by as much as half in some cases.

The National Grocers Association supports the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend enforcement of the OSHA COVID-19 vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard. 

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it is extending the deadline to submit applications for the Farm and Food Worker Relief (FFWR) Grant Program from Feb. 8, 2022, to March 10, 2022.

The timeline on these actions are tight—while arguments are heard on January 7, that’s three days before the enforcement efforts by OSHA are scheduled to start

More than 100,000 people have dropped comments in the Federal Register document that spells out the Biden administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing: Emergency Temporary Standard.

The NGA has written a letter to the Biden administration urging OSHA to consider exempting businesses in the food supply chain from the COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Mandate.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) hosted a breakfast event on December 15th, 2021 to honor the industry’s essential workers as part of 2021 Member of the Year celebration. 

With holiday buying and inflationary pressures coming together, the produce department in November experienced both the stresses of the pandemic and new factors, as well.

"OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. "

The stock market has been on a nice run, but generally speaking, companies that specialize in fresh produce have been laggards rather than leaders.

The USDA will hold an informational webinar for eligible organizations interested in applying for the Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) Grant Program on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard to Jan. 19, 2022.

The fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic is worsening the situation in many European countries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced it has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the agency’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced a new emergency temporary standard to protect more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job.

"I am disappointed that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) emergency temporary standard (ETS) on a vaccine mandate for larger employers fails to adopt several commonsense accommodations...."

USDA is currently accepting applications for the Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program.

The U.S. is facing supply chain disruptions as it enters the holiday season, and the impacts reach far beyond the delivery of gifts and ingredients for traditional meals. 

What are the headlines that you will remember from 2021?

A mere few months ago, nine in 10 Americans expected to celebrate the winter holidays like they would normally, but the fall’s upswing in COVID-19 case counts is yet again causing disruptions, a new study shows.

As backlogs at U.S. ports and climbing shipping rates plague the supply chain, new data shows container shipping rates between the U.S and China are dropping by more than 50% in  just a month. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a six-month moratorium on the enforcement of mandatory inspection requirements under the federal marketing order for California walnuts.

The melon and watermelon production and export industry of Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama is facing one of the greatest risks and threats to the sustainability of the business, its leaders say.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will open the Request for Applications (RFA) for the Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program in early October 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California has been honored as the 2021 United Fresh Produce Association’s Produce Advocate of the Year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Revealing the breaking news to the United Fresh Washington Conference by video message on Sept. 21, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said she has introduced the Fresh Produce Procurement Reform Act.

Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, reports a reversal in consumer comfort with reopening activities as concern over the Delta variant leaps. 

The GAO’s new report on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s pandemic-era Food Box Program said the agency lacks data to accurately measure how well the program succeeded in meeting all of its goals.

Many U.S. apple businesses won’t qualify for critical COVID-relief assistance that was announced today by the Agriculture Department, said the U.S. Apple Association.

The USDA has announced it has allocated $650 million for the new Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant program to support growers and others.

The USDA announced that $700 million will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs.

Rep. Jim Costa brought together healthcare leaders from Fresno County for a virtual press conference to discuss the dire consequences of the recent surge of positive COVID-19 cases.

The USDA is updating the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 for contract producers of eligible livestock and poultry and producers of specialty crops and other sales-based commodities.

The White House said the USDA is making up to $500 million available to help rural health care facilities, tribes and communities expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services and nutrition assistance.

Brewster, Wash.-based Gebbers Farms announced a successful settlement with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries for alleged violations of COVID-19 regulations. 

On July 23, the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, visited and observed a farmworker vaccination clinic in Salinas, Calif.

While it is beyond doubt that SARS-CoV2 is not a foodborne pathogen, what can we learn from the measures that were put in place to control COVID-19 that also had a positive impact on food safety?

As the pandemic slowly begins to ease, what were some of the lessons learned, principles that will help the industry better navigate the realities of today and the unforeseen crises of tomorrow?

Fresh Innovations California, LLC wraps up their employee COVID-19 vaccination lottery!

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has revised its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for COVID-19.

Richard “RJ” Durante chatted on his cell phone while riding in the cab of the Nardella Produce truck from the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market to deliver to Pie Lady Café in Moorestown, N.J.

The National Grocers Association applauds the decision this week by the Labor Department to drop its effort to implement burdensome and unnecessary emergency workplace COVID standards.

This year could see relatively calm waters after the great stormy ocean of 2020, when some produce companies drowned and others kept treading water while the fortunate ones soared high on a wave of retail.

Top produce industry executives will consider what the post-COVID-19 future holds in the United Fresh Produce Association’s Reimagine Conversations track Top-to-Top Retail-Foodservice Dialogues for Success.