COVID-19: Revisiting Impacts and Key Takeaways

This episode, as we hit the three month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, we revisit the impacts along the supply chain and unpack the key takeaways since March as businesses continue to adapt and prepare for a busy summer and harvest season. Featured guests Stéphanie Levasseur, President of Quebec Apple Growers, Satri Alpine, Director of Talent and Culture at Oppy and Tammy Vautour, Quality Assurance Director at Metro cover a variety of topics including the temporary foreign worker program and labour, corporate culture, the supply chain, product availability and much more.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Sustainable Packaging: Preferences and Parameters

Ensuring food quality, sustaining food availability, reducing waste, minimizing costs to consumers and maximizing recyclability – all while mitigating the impacts on the environment – makes the conversation on sustainable packaging and preferred packaging materials remarkably complex. On this episode, guests talk about their work in the area of sustainable packaging and highlight the need for continued collaboration and communication across the supply chain to make the most sound and informed sustainable packaging decisions. We were joined by Dan Duguay of Tactix Government Relations and Public Affairs, Ian Gordon, Senior Vice President of Loblaw Brands, Emily Murracas and Fernanda Albuquerque from Mucci Farms, and Scott Howarth from Sinclair International.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Fairtrade Practices, Certification and Sustainability

This episode, we unpack fairtrade practices as an influential method to sustainability. We spoke with Jennie Coleman, President of Equifruit about their approach to sustainability and the Fairtrade certification. We also brought Mimmo Franzone, Director of Produce and Floral with Longo’s into the conversation to talk about their Fairtrade organic banana program with Equifruit and the added value for their guests.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

COVID-19: Impacts, Risks and Responses across the Produce Supply Chain

On this episode, we dive into the impacts, responses and anticipated future risks of the COVID-19 outbreak across the entire produce supply chain. We feature interviews with industry leaders Davis Yung of Fresh Direct Produce, Angela Santiago of The Little Potato Company, and Tim York of Markon Cooperative to talk about their approaches in addressing these unprecedented challenges and how it has impacted their views on crisis management. We also spoke with the Executive Medical Advisor of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch at the Public Health Agency of Canada to cover the measures that companies and individuals handling produce can take to keep themselves and their employees safe.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Dietitians: On the Forefront of Consumer Education

Dietitians are critical in supporting the health and wellness of Canadians. On this episode, we dive into the diverse roles and responsibilities of dietitians and how they impact the eating habits of individuals at the consumer, community, and national level. We’ll sit down with CPMA’s very own dietitian, Jennifer Ong Tone, Loblaws retail dietitian, Jackie Villeneuve, and Ottawa Public Health dietitian, Marketa Graham.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Produce and Politics: Part 2

CPMA hosts a roundtable discussion with political insiders representing the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties. We continue the conversation on the political landscape of our new minority government and what it means for Canada’s fresh produce industry, covering issues that are at the top of mind for the sector including: expanding access to export trade markets, tackling labour challenges, enhancing sustainability, bolstering the sector’s competitiveness and much more!

The talk is moderated by David Coletto from Abacus Data. Panelists included Caitlin McClung from StrategyCorp Inc., Howard Mains from Tactix Government Relations and Public Affairs Inc. and Cameron Holmstrom from Bluesky Strategy Group Inc. 

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

My Produce Story (LIVE from the CPMA Trade Show Floor)

We're gearing up for the 95th CPMA Convention and Trade Show in May in Toronto and that includes our Learning Lounge sessions on the trade show floor! One of the Learning Lounge sessions that we always love to host is where we learn about interesting and inspiring careers journeys in the produce sector. On this episode, we go back to the Learning Lounge in Montreal to hear from Andrea Palmer of Nova Agri, Daniel Terrault from Hydroserre and Alain Routhier from Courchesne Larose for a session we call My Produce Story. The session was moderated by Rick Alcocer of Duda Farm Fresh Foods.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Produce and Politics: Part 1

On this episode, we sit down with David Coletto of Abacus Data to explore the political landscape of our new minority government and what it means for Canada’s fresh produce industry. In the New Year we’ll be back with Part Two of the series with a roundtable discussion covering issues that are top of mind for our sector including: expanding access to export trade markets, enhancing sustainability, bolstering our sector’s competitiveness and much more.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Variety and Proprietary Produce: From Concept to Commercialization

We dive into all the dynamic components and drivers behind the launch of a new variety – specifically looking at apples and table grapes. We kick off the episode with Kate Evans from Washington State University and Kathryn Grandy from Proprietary Variety Management to talk about the launch of the Cosmic Crisp apple and look more broadly at the breeding processes and innovation behind developing a new variety. We also talk apple varieties with Mac Riggan from Chelan Fresh and table grape varieties with Bill Poulos from Oppy.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.

                 

Practicality of Plastics: Consumer Insights, Best Practices and a Roadmap for the Future

As the potentially damaging effects of plastic packaging on our ecosystem has grown to be more visible to consumers through mainstream and social media, the issue of plastics in produce has come to the forefront. CPMA has recognized the need for an integrated industry approach that best meets regulatory requirements, while keeping produce safe and affordable for the end consumer. To that end, the CPMA Plastics Packaging Working Group was established to identify efforts underway within the industry, determine best practices, and develop an industry-supported roadmap to maintaining food quality and safety while reducing the environmental impact of plastics. On this episode of Produce Talks, we review the results of a consumer insight survey on plastic packaging with pollster David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, and speak with Crystal Howe of Ice River Springs about their water bottles made from 100% recycled plastic.

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Thank you to our podcast sponsor, NatureFresh™ Farms.