UNITED APPOINTS SUSTAINABILITY VP
WASHINGTON — The United Fresh Produce Association has appointed Rob Neenan to the organization's new position of vice president of environmental affairs and sustainability, effective March 1. Neenan will help develop and grow United Fresh's new Center for Global Produce Sustainability, which was established last year through a founding grant from Bayer CropScience. “Rob shares our vision of sustainability as a tool to help growers and the entire produce supply chain reduce costs and increase efficiencies,” said Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh. “Sustainability is most often defined as the intersection of environmental responsibility, social acceptability and economic viability. As companies work to reduce energy use, ensure wise use of natural resources such as water, increase recycling and reuse of materials, and ensure a positive and equitable workplace and community, they're also working to make their companies more economically sustainable.” Following the United Fresh expo in Las Vegas this year, the organization will host its first Global Conference on Produce Sustainability on April 23.
CONVENIENCE CONGRESS LAUNCHED
WASHINGTON — The United Fresh Produce Association has launched the Fresh Convenience Congress, a new annual conference event for professionals involved with Europe's growing fresh produce convenience sector. The inaugural show will be hosted in London this summer from June 22-24. “With the changes happening at the retail and foodservice level, we think it is vitally important that we develop a forum in which the European fresh produce convenience sector at large can discuss in detail the issues that really matter to its future development,” Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh, said in an announcement.
OBAMA talks IMMIGRATION REFORM
WASHINGTON — President Obama has met with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about an immigration reform plan that the two have been working on together. The plan would include a new biometric national ID card for workers, and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Although Graham has criticized Obama for not addressing immigration reform more aggressively, the meeting was interpreted by some observers as a sign that the Obama administration may focus on the issue this year, before mid-term election campaigns begin.
FOODBORNE ILLNESS COSTS BILLIONS
WASHINGTON — Foodborne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion per year, according to new estimates in a report from the Produce Safety Project, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts and Georgetown University. These estimated costs — which were significantly higher than previous government estimates of $35 billion — were based on “the aggregate economic cost of health losses associated with foodborne illnesses,” and included medical costs plus losses to quality of life for illness victims, according to a release from Pew. “This report makes it clear that the gaps in our food-safety system are causing significant health and economic impacts,” Erik Olson, director of food and consumer product safety with the Pew Health Group, said in the release. Illnesses linked to produce accounted for $39 billion of these estimated costs. “This study puts the problem of foodborne illness in its proper perspective and should help facilitate reasonable action designed to mitigate this problem,” said report author Robert L. Scharff, a former FDA economist who is now an assistant professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences at Ohio State University.