Produce Processing

By Cameron Rudolph Michigan State University Packaging materials protect food, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods from contamination, but what happens to them once they’ve served that purpose? Many cannot be recycled — especially plastics — and contribute substantially to the roughly 350 million tons of global plastic waste generated annually.

Another Senate Agriculture Committee vote on the farm bill could come soon. Committee chair John Boozman told Politico on Sept. 10 that he plans to hold another committee vote in the next week. An August attempt to pass the bill stalled because of Democratic opposition to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the absences of Republican Sens.

Four agricultural startups, including an irrigation analytics company, have advanced to the final round of the 2027 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge, where they will compete for a top prize of $100,000. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), in partnership with Farm Credit, named Seismi and Nave Analytics of Nebraska, Swinergy of Minnesota and Good Agriculture of Georgia as finalists. Each received an initial $10,000 prize after advancing from a group of 10 semifinalists.

Titan Farms has achieved SQF Quality certification following an independent audit of the South Carolina grower’s quality management systems. The July 16 certification evaluated Titan Farms’ processes for monitoring product quality, managing potential risks and supporting consistency across its farming and packing operations. Many programs required under the SQF Quality Code were already in place before the certification process began, according to the company.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of local governments, nonprofit organizations and unions representing USDA employees seeks to halt the department’s reorganization, including office closures and forced employee relocations. The lawsuit (.pdf), filed Sept. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, names USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins as defendants.

Manan Sharma is the new president of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), taking the role at the conclusion of the association’s IAFP 2026 Annual Meeting. Manan Sharma Sharma is senior director for produce and food safety at The Acheson Group, where he provides technical and science-based food safety guidance.

Celebrating individuals who are the next generation of leaders, representing the best in the industry.

Digital produce platform ProducePay has secured more than $140 million in new equity and finance capital to fuel global expansion of its financial solutions, digital platform development, and data and predictive analytics capabilities. The round has the potential to expand to $300 million, according to a news release. “This raise marks a major milestone for ProducePay,” ProducePay CEO Patrick McCullough said in the release.

Del Monte Fresh Produce (HK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Del Monte Corp., has entered into a joint venture with Riverking (Shanghai) Agricultural Technology Development Co. Ltd., a private fruit enterprise, to expand into the fresh-cut fruit segment in China. The joint venture combines Del Monte’s brand strength, differentiated packaging and fresh-cut experience and technology with Riverking’s local sourcing, distribution and customer networks, according to a news release.

USDA has unveiled a new modernization plan aimed at reducing producer reporting burdens while improving the timeliness, accuracy and usefulness of agricultural data. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said USDA will expand its use of administrative data, improve mobile survey access and explore prefilled information to reduce duplicative requests. The plan also calls for greater coordination across the department.