The New York Times Magazine has a little feature called “The Meh List” consisting of items that evoke lukewarm feelings (“meh” is an expression roughly translated as “so what?”). Recent lists have included items such as stocking stuffers, Giants Stadium, athletes feeling disrespected and celebrity wedding pictures.
“The Meh List” can be a conversation starter because, despite the intentions of its creator, you can find passionate defenders and detractors of all its items (don’t get me started on the subject of pampered and entitled athletes). Or others can agree that each item matches the feature’s tagline of “Not Hot, Not Not, Just Meh.”
We’re not meh about the fresh-cut industry. And neither are the industry leaders we are featuring this month and next month in our annual “state of the industry” feature. This month, leaders such as Gina Nucci, Karen Caplan and Bob Swartwout assess the industry starting on page 8. We have given them the floor and let them tell us in their own words what’s working, where the challenges are and where the opportunities lie.
The Food Safety Modernization Act is most assuredly not a meh topic. FDA received an estimated 17,000 comments on the produce safety rule alone. For a summary of how United Fresh and the Produce Marketing Association view this rule and the related preventive controls rule, see page 6.
Everywhere I looked in 2013, I found the very opposite of meh. Instead, I met people with rolled-up sleeves and bucketloads of ideas and opinions about this industry, whether the conversations took place at United Fresh, PMA Summit, the UC Davis fresh-cut school or elsewhere. Encountering such a high level of commitment, expertise and innovation makes this a fun assignment.
We expect nothing less from 2014 as new equipment, products and marketing ideas keep coming and as new challenges arise and are confronted. Look for plenty of information about all these issues, plus some strong opinions, in the pages of Fresh Cut this year.
