Top 5 - Organic News to Help You Grow #180

1.Grimmway Donates More Than One Million Pounds of Produce for COVID Relief

After recognizing a need to increase public food assistance, Grimmway team members worked with local and state organizations, industry partners and customers to find creative ways to use existing distribution channels to deliver produce to communities in need. This strategy reduced the logistical footprint of each produce donation, keeping both costs and contact along the supply chain to a minimum.    Read More

2. USDA Moves Forward with Sweeping Plans to Prevent Fraud in Organics
In 2017, The Washington Post reported on a shipment of 36 million pounds of soybeans that were shipped from Ukraine to Turkey to California and sold as organic, even though they had been fumigated with pesticides not approved under the USDA Organic standard and originally sold into the conventional market. And in 2019, an Iowa grain.     Read More

3. Sun Belle to Acquire CoolHouse Distribution Center

Berry marketer Sun Belle Inc. has agreed to acquire the business and property of CoolHouse Distribution Center, LLC in Laredo, Texas. The acquisition adds a fifth Sun Belle distribution center to company operated facilities in Jessup, Maryland; Miami, Florida; Schiller Park, Illinois; and Oxnard, California.     Read More

4. Braga Fresh Adds Whole Foods Vet to Sales Team

Braga Fresh hired Jason Duran to join the sales team at Josie’s Organics. Duran is an expert in the organic produce industry having spent more than 25 years at Whole Foods Market, starting as a team member, moving up to team leader, regional produce buyer, distribution facility team leader and Midwest region produce coordinator. He then moved into purchasing at the global produce office in Watsonville, CA, and other distribution centers.     Read More

5. Organic Systems Plan Being Considered for Healthy Soils Program

The Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel (EFA SAP) is contemplating some changes to the Healthy Soils Program (HSP) from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The panel is seeking written comments on potentially adding an Organic Systems Plan option to the HSP. California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) has been working with CDFA in an effort to get an Organic Transition Option added to the HSP for the last year.   Read More