GFC

These food products are considered the mostly highly sensitive to time and temperature that has a direct impact on their food safety.

• Milk and dairy products
• Eggs (except those treated to eliminate microorganisms)
• Meat (beef, pork and lamb)
• Poultry
• Fish and shellfish
• Baked Potatoes
• Heat-treated plant foods (rice, beans, and vegetables)
• Tofu and other soy proteins
• Sprouts and sprout seeds
• Sliced melons and cut tomatoes

Monitoring time and temperature, after the fact, is simply not good enough for those truly concerned about food safety.    A demand for secure, controlled temperature for transport and distribution of these sensitive foods has been triggered by even more changes in the 2010 marketplace.

              A bag of milk?   At first I thought they meant, bring the entire cow home. Sainsbury's, one of the UK's largest grocery chains announced this week that they are going to begin selling milk in recyclable bags.   The milk bags...

We're not sure there is a more timely or overwhelming topic for our sector then food safety and social responsibility.   In fact, at the recent Seafood Choices Sustainability Summit in Paris, it was screaming clear that institutional buyers and their consumers are asking hard questions about the entire life cycle of the product.     Sitting next to Andrew Furner of Trace Register, we watched buyers repeatedly address their strategic plans.    It was clear they were mobilizing with policies that were no longer a one-issue solution.   They were developing comprehensive solutions that were data driven.      I was curious to know what Trace Register brought to the marketplace to meet an ever growing list of must have's.  Here is a Q/A with Andrew Furner, VP of Trace Register and an international tracing solutions company.

Tanana Valley Meat Ships Alaska Grown Meat to Grocery Store in Haines Using TEDSBox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Anchorage, AK)

Division of Agriculture -

On January 19th Tanana Valley Meats (TVM) shipped four sides of Alaska Grown (AKG) beef and pork, using a temperature controlled container (TEDSBox), to Haines.  Due to limited shipping options, Alaska Meat & Grocery (AMG) had never before purchased local meat.  With the availability of the TEDSBox, they were able to purchase fresh local meat for their consumers, a rarity in the southeast.
 
Most consumer goods arrive via Juneau from the Lower 48 and few – if any perishable AKG goods are shipped to Southeast Alaska.  Demand in Southeast for local product is high, but limited because refrigerated trucks do not travel south from the agricultural production areas of the state.  Having local meat with no hormones or antibiotics, when previously only outside meat was available, was a treat for Haines residents.
 
The Division of Agriculture assisted in the shipment, making connections between AMG & TVM, and finding a company who ships to Haines.  TEDSBox loaded the meat in their temperature controlled container, and Ken Hall with Lynden, arranged for shipment of the product to AMG in Haines, AK.
 
The ability for AMG to meet high demand for local product is a prime example that other remote locations can mimic.  Often remote areas desire local products, but have a difficult time obtaining them, especially in a desirable condition.  Local demand for AKG and the ability to use the temperature controlled container provided AMG with the ability to meet that demand.  We hope other remote locations will mimic this shipment, and join AMG in supporting Alaska Grown.

The International Congress on Seafood  Technology will held in Anchorage, Alaska, May 10 - 13, 2010.  The main objective of this Congress is to review the best available knowledge in the main technological fields relating to seafood processing, shelf life extension and distribution.  

Building on the success of the 1^st Congress in 2008, the 2010 Congress will address state-of-the-art information regarding the handling, processing, preservation, storage and transportation of seafood. Fisheries and aquaculture, as a food production industry, have been advancing rapidly over the last decades. Fish has a positive health image as food, and is now the most internationally traded protein food product. Significant developments in processing technology have allowed new possibilities for more value-added products, longer shelf life, and more secure distribution of seafood.

  Goint direct to customers is definitely what it's all about these days.    Cutting out the middleman, or in the case of food - many middlemen, is the objective by direct marketers.     They have growing options, especially when it comes to ...

Alaska has always rated at the top for consumption (per capita) of ice cream of any other state in the United States.    That is mostly attributed to our seeking out high fat for the long/cold winters.    It might not.  It might be pure pleasure, but the bottom line is that we like our ice cream.   

Getting ice cream is another story.   In ALaska, if you're on the road system, you may have access to reliable, accurate temperature controlled systems.    If you're in communities outside of the railbelt (road system), you crave real ice cream even more, because it is rare and if it does arrive, it has generally been through several temperature changes and only barely resembles the taste and texture of its original form.        

It's a different story over the past year where Tednologies has been working with the Matanuska Creamery and the Yukon Kuskokwim School District to distribute ice cream that has had no temperature variation from manufacturer to market.

 

 

It's being tested in earnest!    Fragrance communications being tested in Japan using an I-Aroma device.  This has always been talked about in the food and beverage world.

Ok, let your imagination run wild!    

Take a look at pictures of food supply chains in textbooks or on the web. They often overlook this quiet, often invisible and most critical link.   Images usually render trucks, ships, airplanes and often distribution centers, but it is rare to see a picture of a fiber optic cable or a satellite included. In fact, it is tops on my list.

After all, it is communications that connects buyers and sellers.   It is communications that tells buyers when fish openings are and the status of their order.   It is data transmitted and received that communicates inventories, security clearances and inspection results.   It is communication systems that allow the Internet and the explosion of opportunities for individuals, communities and regions to market their unique products and services.   It has definitely been the foundation responsible for opening the world of opportunities for Alaska. 

For that reason, Brad Spees, VP Commercial Sales and Marketing, GCI accepted our invitation to participate in Global Food Alaska in 2007.   He is returning in 2009 to forge more solutions for commercial buyers and suppliers with the quiet and invisible and most critical link in the supply chain.

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