ORLANDO, FL -- A panel of three speakers at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit addressed a discussion of the formula that "Food Safety + Risk Management = Profitability." The panelists were Bob Whitaker, chief science officer of the Newark, DE- based PMA; Rick Broderick, director of risk management for Harris Corp., based in Melbourne, FL; and Devon Zagory, senior vice president of food- safety and quality programs for NSF Davis Fresh, which is part of NSF International, headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI. Scott Danner, chief operating officer of Liberty Fruit Co. Inc. in Kansas City

New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles M. Kuperus is stepping down. He submitted his resignation Oct. 24 to Gov. Jon S. Corzine, effective Dec. 31, and plans to return to his family's farm in Sussex County, NJ. "When I became secretary of agriculture seven years ago, my goal was to accelerate the preservation of farmland, strengthen the industry to allow agriculture to thrive, and encourage the next generation and welcome new people into agriculture in our state," Mr. Kuperus said in a press release. "I am proud of the many accomplishments of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture

ORLANDO, FL -- In January, three produce trade groups sat down with the goal of designing and implementing a plan to realize full field-to-fork traceability at the case level for the entire produce industry. When they were finished, a seven-step plan that aims for industrywide implementation in 2012 had been designed. Details of the plan and an update on its progress toward implementation were discussed Oct. 25 at the Finding Your Place in Whole Chain Traceability session at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit Convention & Exposition, here. PMA, the United Fresh Produce

ORLANDO, FL -- The 2008 Chilean Fresh Fruit Association North American importers meeting was held here Oct. 24. The meeting, held in conjunction with the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit, included a look at the recent and coming Chilean fruit export season as well as the Chilean association's promotional plans for the 2008-09 marketing season. Tom Tjerandsen, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association USA in Sonoma, CA, described his group's 2009 North American marketing plans as having the four following objectives: * Increase awareness. * Encourage trial. * Increase

ORLANDO, FL -- The 59th annual Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit, held Oct. 24-27 at the Orange County Convention Center, here, drew 17,502 attendees, more than 1,000 shy of the 18,630 record attendance set in San Diego in 2006 but some 1,600 more than last year's event in Houston. "We couldn't be more pleased," said Lorna Christie, PMA's senior vice president of industry products and services. "We market to the economy." The 2008 convention and exposition did shatter a key benchmark: There were nearly 4,000 buyers in attendance, which exceeds Fresh Summit's previous best "by 500 or

ORLANDO, FL -- The garlic industry continues to work toward a unified message in its efforts to compete against Chinese garlic. On Saturday, Oct. 25, garlic industry representatives from the United States and Mexico gathered here for its annual breakfast at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit. The overriding message primarily was one of convincing customers of the attributes of garlic grown in California as well as in other countries other than China. It is not a new message but one that the breakfast participants said bears repeating with customers. Sal Vacca, a partner in Bronx