Top News in the Produce Industry
July 16 – 31, 2021
By iFoodDS Team
July 28, 2021
Walmart Automates 25 DCs
Walmart plans to automate their warehouses using robot technology from Symbotic in an effort to increase speed and efficiency in more than half of their regional distribution centers.
“The new way of unloading store-friendly palletized trucks will make the process faster and simpler for our associates, allowing them to spend more time with our customers,” said Joe Metzger, executive vice-president of supply chain operations at Walmart U.S.
Aldi Launches Corner Store
Keeping groceries and fresh produce as the core items of their stores, Aldi recently launched a new small format ‘corner store’ in Australia. Ready-to-go meals are also offered in this new project by Aldi. Corner stores will be primarily located in urban locations and focus on refurbishing existing properties rather than building new ones.
Uber Eats Partners with Albertsons Cos.
Uber Eats partnered with major retailer Albertsons Cos. to provide their on-demand delivery service, which is now available in six major cities including New York and San Francisco, and through other local and regional supermarkets. Albertsons customers can access the food and grocery delivery services via the Uber and Uber Eats apps.
Ag Leaders Urge Labor Reform
For the first time in over 20 years, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture testified before the Judiciary Committee on the importance of farmworkers in the U.S. and the current labor shortage. Visa reform is critical to managing production costs and consumer food prices.
USDA and FDA Will Host FSMA Produce Safety Rule for Latin American Produce Exporters Webinar
On August 9, 2021, USDA and FDA will host a webinar to discuss the Produce Safety rule and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) for stakeholders in Latin America. Presentations will be given by FDA’s Produce Safety Expert Dr. Mauricio Castelo.
PMA Foodservice 2021
PMA’s Foodservice Expo was held in Monterey, CA July 21-22. The expo was back in person, and attendees participated in networking and educational sessions. The iFoodDS team attended and participated in the Brighter Bites event, a charity event that served 150 families and distributed about 5,600 pounds of fresh produce.
U.S. Online Grocery Market Declines
According to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey, for the third month in a row, U.S. online grocery shopping has declined after hitting peak levels in 2021’s first quarter.
Keith Shoemaker Appointed President of The Kroger Co.’s Dallas Division
Keith Shoemaker will take over as President of the Dallas division, succeeding Adam Wampler who died unexpectedly last month. Shoemaker has 44 years of experience with Kroger across multiple leadership roles.
FDA Announces Topic for Quarterly Podcast
Next Wednesday, August 11, 2021, FDA will air its second TechTalk Podcast: “Whole-Genome Sequencing”. The podcast will feature Mark Moorman, director of FDA’s Office of Food Safety, and Eric Brown, director of the Division of Microbiology in the Office of Regulatory Science at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, who will lead the discussion with top experts in food safety and public health.
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