WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over 25 fresh fruit and vegetable innovations are up for United Fresh Produce Association’s 2012 New Product Awards. This year’s finalists will compete in five categories for the title of Best New Products at United Fresh 2012, May 1-3 in Dallas.
“These 27 products are forerunners in the effort to bring new approaches, ideas and processes to the fresh fruit and vegetable industry,” said John Toner, United’s vice president of convention & industry relations. “From its very beginnings, the United show has been the undisputed home of innovation for the produce industry, and these awards continue to showcase the best and brightest minds in the produce business.”
“The development and display of the latest in innovation from our industry is a vital part of the mission of every United trade show,” said United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel. “Our industry’s success is built upon the foresight and creativity of its member companies in bringing new products to market. This serves to boost value to the consumer and profitability to the industry.”
Products will be on display in the Dallas Convention in the lobby of Hall A adjacent to the United Fresh Show Floor, where they will be judged by all attendees from United, FMI and AMI throughout the show. Winners will be determined by total votes received as of 5:00 pm on Wednesday May 2nd, and will be announced at the opening of the show floor on Thursday, May 3, at 10:00 am.
The 2012 New Product Award finalists are:
Best New Packaging
- Fruit Pop Pouches, Maxwell Chase Technologies, LLC
- Garden Highway Salad Essentials Salad Toppers, Renaissance Food Group
- Live Gourmet Squircle Clamshell and Harness Style Shipping Carton, Hollandia Produce LLC/Live Gourmet
- Naturipe EarthCycle Packaging for Organic Berries, Naturipe Farms, LLC
- Rock Garden Breathable Herb Bag, Rock Garden
- Safe-T-Fresh® Grab and Go Cups, Inline Plastics Corp
- SUNSET® Fresh Tomato Soup Kit, Mastronardi Produce
Best New Food Safety Solution
- FlashCheck® Real-time Bacterial Enzyme Detection Kit, DeltaTRAK®, Inc.
- Freshness Management™ with the Intelleflex CMR-6100 Cellular Reader and Intelleflex ZEST™ Data Services, Intelleflex®
- PTI Lite™, RedLine Solutions, Inc.
- The HydroDose-High Dilution Dosing System, BioSafe Systems
Best New Packing/Processing Equipment
- Bosch Pack 301 IN Inverted Horizontal Flow Wrapper, Bosch Packaging Technology, Inc
- ECM-200 Slicer with Exit Conveyor, Nichimo
- High speed counting and packing device, Abracad Technoworks BV
- MCT 25 OS "Onion Slicer", Maxwell Chase Technologies, LLC
- NicePack, BrimaPack
Best New Fruit Product
- Crunch Pak Dipperz®, Crunch Pak®
- Fresh Fruit Parfaits, Ready Pac Foods
- Naturipe Cold Processed Dried Blueberries, Strawberries and Cherries, Naturipe Farms, LLC
- Welch's New Grape Bag – Picnic Pack, C.H. Robinson
- Yonanas®, Dole Food Co.
Best New Vegetable Product
- Aurora Bites mini peppers, Pure Hot House Foods, Inc.
- Delano™, Mastronardi Produce
- Farmhouse Heritage Beefsteak Tomato, JemD Farms
- Fresh Express Organic Baby Sweet Lettuce and Organic 50/50 Mix, Chiquita
- Gourmet In-Store Salad Kits, Tiffany Gate Fine Foods
- The Culinary Garden Unique Salads & Coleslaws, Freshway Foods
The 2011 New Product Award winners were:
- Best New Packaging: MIXIM Classic 5×5 6oz. Bushberry Packaging System, Sambrailo Packaging
- Best New Food Safety Solution: SmartWashTM, New Leaf Food Safety Solutions
- Best New Processing Equipment: Primus Gemini – New and Improved Fresh Berry Sorter, Best Sorting
- Best New Fruit Product: Sun DropsTM Grape Tomatoes, Mucci Farms AND Naturipe® Berry Quick Blueberry Snacks, Naturipe Farms, LLC
- Best New Packing/Packaging Equipment: Volmpack Ultrek 320 Vertical-Form-Fill-Seal Bagger, Volm Companies, Inc.
- Best New Vegetable Product: Pure Flavor Grill Ready Vegetable Mix, Pure Hot House Foods Inc.
For more information on the 2012 New Product Awards or on United Fresh 2012, contact United’s Exposition Manager Jamie Woodside at 202-303-3420.
Founded in 1904, the United Fresh Produce Association serves companies at the forefront of the global fresh and fresh-cut produce industry, including growers, shippers, fresh-cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Western Regional office in Salinas, Calif., United Fresh and its members work year-round to make a difference for the produce industry by driving policies that increase consumption of fresh produce, shaping critical legislative and regulatory action, providing scientific and technical leadership in food safety, quality assurance, nutrition and health, and developing educational programs and business opportunities to assist member companies in growing successful businesses. For more information, visit www.unitedfresh.org or call 202-303-3400.
Source: United Fresh Produce Association
