Marketing Seminar for Food Entrepreneurs

This 2 day seminar presents the basics of marketing and communications for current and prospective food business owners.

Date: April 24 and 25, 2013
Location: Rutgers Food Innovation Center, Bridgeton, NJ
Contact: Diane Holtaway holtaway@njaes.rutgers.edu

Topics include marketing products to retailers, media relations, digital marketing, trade show and events, packaging and labeling, visual merchandising, food service marketing, social media, website development, and content marketing.

-- Submitted by Rick VanVranken

FDA Proposed Produce Food Safety Rule Q & A - Exemptions

- Meredith Melendez

The first FDA Proposed Produce Food Safety Rule Q & A conference call, coordinated by the Produce Safety Alliance, was held yesterday.  This conference call focused on exemptions to the proposed rule.  Here are the highlights of yesterday’s conference call:

1. How are average annual sales for a farm calculated?
2. Farm Facility (Packinghouse) Registration, are farms exempt?
3. At what point does the FDA Preventative Controls rule apply to a farm?
4. Are there any exemptions to the labeling of product to be sold?

Greenhouse Sanitation and Inspection

- Andy Wyenandt

Proper greenhouse sanitation is important for healthy, disease-free vegetable transplant production. Efforts need to be made to keep transplant production greenhouses free of unnecessary plant debris and weeds which may harbor insect pests and disease.