98 cent produce pack increases Fresh & Easy produce sales

The 98 cent produce pack is having its intended effect, says the latest Fresh & Easy news release. First, background on the 98 cent produce pack.

From coverage in The Packer, Jan. 19:

Tesco offers 98-cent produce packs
By Bob Luder, Senior Writer
Fresh & Easy has introduced 98-cent produce packs, it says, in response customers on a budget needing fresh quality products.
According to a news release, British retail giant Tesco's U.S. division, El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, has noticed a sharp spike in its sales of canned foods over the past few months, particularly canned fruits and vegetables. The 98-cent pack was created to satisfy the need for budget-friendly fresh products.
"One of the things we've noticed in this recent economy is that customers are looking to save money," said Brendan Wonnacott, Fresh & Easy spokesman. "But obviously they don't want to compromise on quality. That's why we've introduced the 98-cent produce packs. They're affordable, but also high quality."
The 98-cent produce packs are delivered fresh daily to stores and currently include apples, oranges, peaches, carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes. With the new line, customers can always choose from six fruits and vegetables, which will rotate depending on season and availability.
"The reception we've received from customers has been fantastic, whether it's with comments on our Web site or leaving comment cards on site," Wonnacott said. "They're very excited about this new opportunity. It's been selling very well."


Today, sliding across the inbox, is this news release from Fresh & Easy:

Produce sales at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores have increased more than 11 percent since January, when the grocer introduced 98-cent Produce Packs in response to customers looking for fresh fruits and vegetables on a budget. This sharp increase in sales shows people are continuing to look for ways to stretch their budgets while seeking out quality items.

TK: The release quotes Simon Uwins, chief marketing officer for Fresh & Easy, stating that the 98 cent produce packs offer customers a "great way to save money without compromising on quality or freshness."

The Perishable Pundit said this about the concept on Jan. 13:

We know value is the hot thing today and, certainly, consumers like a deal. However, one day the store is promoting its green credentials; the next day it’s the place you get stuff for under a buck. This is no way to build a consistent image.We also wonder if it is actually addressing the problem consumers experience in shopping for fresh produce at Fresh & Easy

TK: I think Jim protests too much (as usual when it comes to his takes on F & E) about the value-themed Fresh & Easy 98 cent produce strategy. With the economy in the iron grip of the reccesion, the 98 cent produce pack appears to be working - and that's a good thing for consumers and for Fresh & Easy.

Curtain goes up on DeLauro legislation: Food Safety Modernization Act

From the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro:


Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3) joined by Gabrielle Meunier, Mother of Salmonella Typhimurium victim; Jeff Almer, whose mother died as a result of salmonella poisoning and a S.T.O.P.-Safe Tables Our Priority member/victim advocate; and Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest, at a press conference on the peanut butter salmonella outbreak. DeLauro also introduced food safety reform legislation, the Food Safety Modernization Act, which would fix systemic problems in our food safety system by modernizing our food safety laws and establishing a separate Food Safety Administration headed by an expert in food safety within the Department of Health and Human Services.

The legislation enjoys the support of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention; Center for Science in the Public Interest; Consumer Federation of America; Consumers Union; Food & Water Watch; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Safe Tables Our Priority; Trust for America’s Health (please click on the organization to view their endorsement).

“This salmonella outbreak represents the full-scale breakdown of a patchwork food safety system. And it should act as the final wake up call,” said DeLauro. “That is why, today, I am introducing the Food Safety Modernization Act to separate food safety regulation from drug and device approvals and to restore the balance that has long been missing at Health and Human Service.

Under the proposal, FDA would be split into an agency responsible for food safety (the Food Safety Administration) and another responsible for regulation of drugs and devices. This move creates an agency solely focused on protecting the public through better regulation of the food supply. The Food Safety Modernization Act would establish a farm-to-fork system for protecting foods that are currently regulated by FDA, which has jurisdiction over 80 percent of the food supply.

DeLauro also focused on the urgency for action, “With every recall the American people grow more concerned and the momentum for reform grows. For eight long years, our food safety system has been crippled by disinvestment, mismanagement, and a failure to meet its most basic regulatory responsibilities. True reform is going to require strong leadership from our president. I am confident, at last, that we have a government that understands its obligation to its citizens.”

In addition to the structural change, The Food Safety Modernization Act also updates food laws and would change the focus to preventing disease-causing contamination. The bill would utilize a modern approach to food safety by requiring food producers to: control health hazards in their operations; meet federal standards for preventing or removing contaminants and pathogens from food; and be subject to regular inspections by federal officials based on the risk profile of the products they produce. When prevention fails, the Food Safety Administrator would have sufficient enforcement authority, including authority to order recalls, seize unsafe food before it enters the market, and impose fines on companies that refuse to abide by the law.

“Together, we can act now to make it happen, transform the FDA, and begin a new movement that puts public health first,” DeLauro concluded. “At last, we can bring our current food safety system out of the past. It is about time.”

A joint approach: Global Food Safety Initiative and GlobalGAP

Just sliding across the inbox:

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), managed by CIES -- The Food Business Forum, and GlobalGAP announced today that together they are developing a joint approach to benchmarking for farm assurance scheme owners.

To provide a transparent and coherent approach, GFSI and GLOBALGAP have begun a review of the GFSI Guidance Document and the GLOBALGAP Good Agricultural Practice Reference Standard. The aim is to align the two benchmarking processes and benchmarking criteria, to provide equivalent end results.

This partnership will provide a harmonised and streamlined framework for benchmarking services to farm assurance food safety scheme owners specifically within the scope of food safety. The end result will create greater recognition and confidence along the entire supply chain for all stakeholders from farm to fork.

J P Suarez, Chairman of the GFSI and Senior Vice President and General Counsel, International Division, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said "We are delighted to form this partnership with GLOBALGAP which will make recognition of food safety elements on farm much easier for retailers, manufacturers and food service operators" Nigel Garbutt, Chairman of GLOBALGAP added "Producers will also benefit from a harmonised set of Good Agricultural Practice food safety criteria, applicable to agricultural production around the globe."

CU: in support of Food Safety Modernization Act

From Consumers Union:

February 4, 2009

Honorable Rosa DeLauro
U.S. House of Representatives
2413 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congresswoman DeLauro:

Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, is writing in support of your legislation, the “Food Safety Modernization Act,” (FSMA) being introduced today. The U.S. food safety system has been in trouble for a long time; the most recent examples of its failings are the current outbreak of salmonella in peanut butter, which has killed 8 and sickened over 500, and last summer’s outbreak of salmonella in peppers. There are many other examples that demonstrate that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – the agency that is supposed to oversee the safety of foods such as peanut butter, peppers, and many others – is incapable of protecting Americans. The FDA clearly needs significant overhaul.

Your legislation, the FSMA, will accomplish a number of important food safety reforms at the beleaguered agency. Among these many reforms are the following:

• Ensure that, at a minimum, food production facilities would be inspected annually – a critical and necessary improvement to our current system, in which facility inspections only once every decade on average. The ongoing peanut butter outbreak now reveals that the PCA plant in Georgia – ground zero for the contamination – was last inspected by the FDA in 2001. The FSMA would create five categories of food production facilities, and would require inspections based upon the type of food handled and its processing.

• A requirement that food production establishments maintain records and disclose internal testing results that are positive for food contaminants. Such a disclosure could have prevented the current peanut butter outbreak, since PCA found salmonella on twelve different occasions in the last two years. It did not disclose the results but rather kept them confidential and shipped the contaminated products.

• A mandate for the FDA to establish and enforce performance standards for the five most significant food contaminants.

• More and more of our food is coming from overseas, and the current FDA is not able to keep up with this reality. The FSMA would authorize the agency to review foreign food safety records, and to require certification that foreign facilities are in compliance with U.S. food safety standards, if they are importing to the U.S. If the food is not certified to U.S. standards, it will have to be imported through a port with an accredited laboratory. Your bill would help prevent crises like the salmonella outbreak in Mexican peppers last summer, by requiring foreign food processors that export to the U.S. to meet the same standards as U.S. food processors.

• A traceability program that would permit the agency to traceback contaminated produce to its source in a timely fashion in the event of another outbreak.

• Increased penalties – up to a maximum of $1 million, instead of the current maximum of $10,000 - against those who violate food safety laws. Such penalties are necessary to deter wrongdoing, and to send the clear signal that food hazards are not an acceptable business practice.

For far too long, the FDA has come up short in keeping Americans from being made sick – or worse – by the food in their homes. Your bill will go a long way towards reforming our damaged food safety system.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and other members of Congress in an effort to pass food safety reform legislation.

Sincerely,

Jean Halloran
Director, Food Policy Initiatives
Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703

Ami V. Gadhia
Policy Counsel
Consumers Union
1101 17th Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036