United Fresh Reveals New Product Award Finalists

Twenty-nine of the top new products in the produce industry will compete in six categories for the title of Best New Product at United Fresh 2010, which will take place April 20 through April 23 in Las Vegas.

“New and improved products stimulate the growth and profitability of our industry,” said John Toner, VP of convention and industry relations for Washington-based United Fresh. “The awards honor the results of years of R&D and the foresight of companies in bringing new innovation to the marketplace.”

Tom Stenzel, United Fresh president/CEO, concurred. “Our goal is to drive innovation and adoption of new technologies to help boost value to the consumer and profitability to the industry,” he noted. “The finalists for this year’s new product awards provide a wide array of innovations for our industry and will offer a wealth of fresh ideas to everyone visiting the show.”

Products will be on display in the United Fresh membership booth on the show floor, where they will be judged by all attendees throughout the event. Winners will be determined by total votes received as of 2 p.m. on April 22, and will be announced about one hour later after tabulation.

This year’s finalists are:

Best New Packaging:
Fresh Express Artisanal Salads, Chiquita Brands
Renewable Wide-Flange Container and Lidding Film, Clear-Lam Packaging, Inc.
Pack-in-MAP Technology, Pack-in-MAP Technology
Tamper-Resistant Rectangles, PWP Industries
RunRite Clamshells, Sambrailo Packaging

Best New Food Safety Solution:
SISTEM 4.0, Alchemy Systems
FlashLink VU, DeltaTRAK, Inc.
FieldPack PTI, TraceGains, Inc.
VoiceCode, HarvestMark

Best New Processing Equipment:
FogTunnel Produce Treatment System, AgSolutions, Inc.
Fresh-Cut Accessories, Charlie’s Machine and Supply, Inc.
CARR-O-CUT, Everett Brothers Engineering, Ltd.
In-Crate Washing and Drying System, FTNON USA, Inc.
OnCore Lettuce Core Removal System, Key Technology, Inc.
Automatic Multi-Decorer Titano 2010, Turatti SRL

Best New Fruit Product:
Grab N Go Grape Tomato Bags, Andrew & Williamson
Chiquita Fresh & Ready Avocados, Chiquita Brands
Del Monte CRT™ Single Finger Banana, Del Monte Fresh Produce Co.
Ready To Eat Mimi Candy Tomatoes, Mastronardi Produce/Sunset
Ready Snax Fresh Fruit Parfaits!, Ready Pac Produce
Dipping Chocolates, Tropical Nut & Fruit

Best New Packing/Packaging Equipment:
Primus Optical Sorter, Best Sorting
Ultra Bagger (Girbagger) Bagging Machine, Giro Pack
MacroTote, Macro Plastics
MCT Absorbent Pouch Filling System, Maxwell Chase Technologies
6428 RPC, Polymer Logistics

Best New Vegetable Product:
Ready Pac Bistro Seasonal Salads — Italiano & Waldorf, Ready Pac Produce
Jade Asian Greens, San Miguel Produce
Simply Special Vegetable Sauces, USA Fresh, LLC

Last year’s New Product Award winners were:

Best Food Safety Tool or Service: Ultra Wireless Label, PakSense
Best New Packaging Equipment: Genius Optical Sorter, Best Sorting
Best New Processing Equipment: Broccoli Floret Machine, Charlie’s Machine & Supply, Inc.
Best New Packaging: Air-O-Films Ventilated Pallet Wrap, West Coast Supplies
Best New Fruit or Vegetable Product: Chiquita Pineapple Bites, Chiquita Brands

For more information on the New Product Awards, call United Fresh Convention Services Coordinator Jill Grigg at 202-303-3400 ext. 420.
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