FDA, CDC lift nationwide romaine consumer advisory, announce voluntary labeling agreement

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FDA, CDC lift nationwide romaine consumer advisory, announce voluntary labeling agreement

The FDA has not discovered any contaminated hydroponic or greenhouse-grown romaine.

November 27, 2018
Patrick Williams

Following the onset of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce announced by the CDC and the FDA on Nov. 20, the agencies have lifted a nationwide consumer advisory that said romaine is unsafe to eat. However, the CDC is telling consumers and those in the produce supply chain not to eat, sell or serve romaine lettuce harvested from the Central Coast in central and northern California, according to a CDC food safety alert.

The FDA has also announced a voluntary labeling agreement with the leafy green industry to help customers determine where their romaine lettuce came from, the agency’s commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, said in a statement.

Resulting from its investigations over the Thanksgiving holiday, FDA has found that the outbreak likely came from “end of season” romaine lettuce grown in the Central Coast growing region, Gottlieb said.

The CDC has confirmed 43 cases of E. coli in 12 states, with illnesses starting between Oct. 8 and Oct. 31. Sixteen people were hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported as of 4 p.m., Nov. 27. The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed 22 cases of E. coli in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.

Currently, the FDA does not believe that romaine grown in other regions, nor hydroponic romaine lettuce or greenhouse-grown romaine, have been contaminated, Gottlieb said.

With its new voluntary labeling initiative, the FDA aims to make clear to consumers where their lettuce was grown and the date it was harvested, Gottlieb said. Labels should also note whether romaine was grown hydroponically or in a greenhouse. If information is missing, the FDA encourages consumers and the supply chain not to use or eat romaine.

Dr. Bob Whitaker, chief science and technology officer at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), sent an email to produce industry members and stakeholders on Nov. 26, providing an update on the lift of the consumer advisory and the establishment of the voluntary labeling agreement. PMA, United Fresh and other industry partners are offering support to the FDA and CDC in the traceback investigation, and PMA is working to help implement voluntary labeling.

“PMA has agreed to support this initiative and are recommending that all industry members throughout the supply chain follow this labeling program,” Whitaker said in the email. “We recognize that voluntary source labeling is not true traceability, but it is a mechanism to ensure consumers have access to romaine that was not implicated in the outbreak.”

PMA and United Fresh created a Question & Answer (Q&A) document that addresses the labeling agreement.

Creighton Magid, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney and head of its Washington, D.C., office, stressed in a statement the need for a voluntary labeling agreement in light of the recent nationwide consumer advisory not to eat romaine lettuce, when the E. coli-contaminated greens came from a specific region.

“The FDA’s announcement is important in that it addresses, for the first time, the need for place-of-origin labeling for fresh produce,” Magid said.

Tyme TakeTech created with goal of simplifying food takeout

With its new platform, Tyme Commerce has plans to drastically reduce customer wait time for food pickup.

November 27, 2018
Press Release

Consumer Watch

SAN FRANCISCO — Tyme Commerce announces Tyme TakeTech for the restaurant industry, a platform aimed at radically simplifying consumers’ food takeout experience. Consumers who use the Tyme app to order takeout and the Tyme TakeTech modular cubbies for pickup will spend significantly less time waiting in line and for their food, according to a press release.

After receiving a food or drink order via the Tyme app, restaurant staff slide the order into the designated cubby from the kitchen side and close it. Each cubby is insulated to keep cold food cold and warm food warm until customer pickup. At that time, the customer uses the Tyme app to unlock the other side of the cubby.

The kitchen side of the cubby includes a digital display area with the customer’s name and number of times they have ordered. This personalization helps the restaurant staff personally greet the customer or provide other perks as a thank you for their loyalty.

Tyme TakeTech cubbies are modular, enabling restaurants to attach as many as needed to suit the restaurant’s layout and design. Adding more cubbies is a simple matter of attaching them to the existing set — no additional electronic work required.

“Tyme TakeTech will revolutionize the restaurant takeout experience by eliminating the time wasted in placing and waiting for a takeout order,” said Bobby Marhamat, CEO of Tyme Commerce. “Customers who experience how fast and easy Tyme TakeTech is will put that restaurant at the top of their list for favorite food pickup places.”

Tyme Commerce plans to release its Tyme TakeTech solution for food pickup/takeout in early 2019.

Photo courtesy of Tyme TakeTech

Q&A: 6 things to know about Proptek trays

Proptek’s Sandra Fischbein and Paul Greenley explain the advantages of injection molded plastic, how to properly clean propagation trays and more.

November 27, 2018
GIE Media Horticulture Group

Propagation

Below, Proptek’s Sandra Fischbein and Paul Greenley answer questions about what injection molded trays offer growers, the maintenance required to maintain them and more.

Produce Grower: What are some of the benefits of injection molded plastic trays?

Sandra Fischbein: The injection molded trays give the best value because they are very sturdy and they last longer than the other two types of trays, Styrofoam and VFT. Some of our injection molded trays are still in production from the 1980s. You can hold onto them for 20, 30 years if you take care of them. They're environmentally friendly in that they are made of reprocessed material and once they do eventually break, they can be reprocessed to make other products.

Another benefit is that they are designed with many features that [maximize] root development. Really for a vegetable transplant, roots are the most important part of the plant. A good root system is essential for success in the field. Proptek has several decades of experience, and has put a lot energy and research into designing trays that promote strong root systems, which you don't get as much from Styrofoam or other materials.

Produce Grower: How are injection molded trays made?

Paul Greenley: Not easily - molds are large blocks of steel with a cavity in them. Hot, liquid plastic is injected into this cavity and when cooled the mold is opened, and out pops a tray. That’s the simple answer – the time and money that needs to be put into a mold that can often weigh 10 tons – and that’s without the machine doing the injecting – is incredible. But, we’ve been doing this a very long time and we have the knack of it now and we think a little extra hard work is 100 percent worth it for a far superior product

Produce Grower: We see a lot in the news and media about waste plastic being an issue for the environment – surely still using plastic trays is a bad idea if we are trying to be green?

PG: Plastic is a real problem in the world – but we are tackling this issue by making our trays out of reprocessed material. When the tray reaches the end of its life after potentially a decade or even more, they get ground up and reformed into more trays. Due to the super long life of the tray, far fewer trays are thrown away into landfills than if a one or two-use thermoformed pot were to be used.

Produce Grower: What kind of maintenance does a Proptek tray require?

SF: They are one of the easiest trays to take care of. You need to remove the soil and the plant material left from the prior use. It's okay if there's a bit of residual growing media left in the tray because then you're going to sterilize them. Most often, it's heat that's used to sterilize, whether it's a spray or hot water dip or some sort or a steam room. Or you can use chlorine or other sanitizing agents to clean the trays.

Produce Grower: Is there a growing system that these trays are best suited for?

SF: You can use them in any system, but they are [more] adaptable to an automated system than a VFT tray or a Styrofoam tray because [of] things like the stacking and their rigidness. They hold their shape and size, and everything stays in alignment with your equipment. Styrofoam trays can shrink over time, and VFT trays are too malleable and flex, so they don't hold up in automated systems.

Produce Grower: If a grower was interested in exploring these trays, what can Proptek offer in terms of samples or additional information?

SF: Growers can start with our website – they can even order samples from the website. The website can also direct growers to sales reps in all regions who can answer any questions they might have and work with them on their specific need. Proptek is in North America, South America and around the world.

Photo courtesy of Proptek

Growing efficiency

King City Nursery in King City, California, relies on Proptek trays to make its vegetable transplanting business operate smoothly.

November 27, 2018
GIE Media Horticulture Group

Propagation

Located in King City, California, King City Nursery is a leading vegetable transplanting business. With 44 greenhouses and more than 525,000 square feet of production space, King City grows a large number of transplants that serve its parent company, Rio Farms, and other growers in what King City manager Jeff Pereira calls the “salad bowl of the country”: the Salinas Valley. Pereira says King City grows celery, cabbage, peppers and other crops as transplants.

As a transplant grower, King City relies on the vegetable propagation trays it receives from Proptek to keep the business running smoothly. It uses three different tray sizes that fit its growing needs and allows the business to operate more efficiently.

"Everything about the trays work with our system," Pereira says.

For Pereira, who has been with King City since it was founded in 1990, labor is the biggest concern. He says rising labor costs over the past few years and a lack of labor have been the biggest challenges the business has faced in recent memory.

Pereira, however, says that finding the right propagation trays for the business helped with labor concerns. The main reason Proptek trays work for King City, he says, is that they enable the business to become more efficient and thus help with labor. They primarily use a 234-cell tray that fits in the same space as smaller trays. They also use two others sizes that offer the same space-saving benefit. Because of that fit, the business doesn’t need to hire any additional labor to work different production areas. It also keeps everyone in one place, so employee movement becomes more efficient as well.

"It's all about plants per square foot in our industry," he says. "The same labor can work more with bigger trays." Pereira adds that the injection molded plastic trays from Proptek are ideal for rooting and make seedlings easier to pull – another labor-saving feature.

When King City wanted to upgrade its trays, Pereira says that the change was increasing to the 234-cell tray for certain crops – a 42-cell increase from the trays the business used to use.

"We increased our productivity by 20 percent without doing anything," Pereira says. He adds that the 234-cell tray from Proptek, the primary tray the business uses, also has the added benefit of being stackable and easy to carry. They are durable too, meaning Pereira isn’t having to consistently replace trays and hope they arrive on time.

In working with Proptek, Pereira says he found a strong partner for King City because of their customer service. When he has a question or concern, he says Proptek is quick to answer. And when King City wanted to upgrade its trays, Pereira says Proptek helped him get a tray that was a custom fit for his business.

"They take care of me," he says.

Photo courtesy of King City Nursery

3 ways the right tray helps reduce waste

By using durable trays made from reprocessed materials, growers can make their operations more environmentally friendly and efficient.

November 27, 2018
GIE Media Horticulture Group

Propagation

Here are three ways Proptek’s Sandra Fischbein says using Proptek trays made from injection molded plastic helps growers reduce waste.

1. It keeps costs down.

“We want to provide as valuable a tray as we can,” Fischbein says. “Trays should be not very expensive to our customers, but strong and durable as well. That’s a major reason to use a tray made from reprocessed material instead of virgin plastic.” Proptek’s trays are durable – some growers report still using trays purchased in the late 1980s – so they also reduce costs by not needing to purchase new trays in bulk with regularity as well. The up-front cost may be higher, but growers will see savings over time.

2. It saves growers time.

Growers are busy, especially when their greenhouses are full of transplants, so they may not always have time to properly dispose of old trays or remember to fill out an order for new trays that the business needs in a pinch. By using injection molded trays, growers don’t have to worry about either problem, Fischbein says.

Additionally, injection molded plastic trays offer strong rooting and easy pulling – lessening the time workers spend harvesting transplants that are ready to be shipped to customers. And because many of Proptek’s trays fit a larger quantity of transplants in the same amount of space as other trays, it means workers do not have to move around as much to get the job done. As a result, they become more efficient.

3. It’s environmentally friendly.

By not using other trays that break down faster and have to be thrown out, Fischbein says growers will be contributing less waste to their community. If growers use Styrofoam and/or thermoformed trays that break easily have to be thrown out, they’ll only be adding to the large waste build-up in their communities. “And in time when you do have a truck full of broken [injection molded plastic] trays, you can easily recycle them,” she says. “There’s very little waste in that process.”

Photo courtesy of Proptek