-By Meg Major

The produce industry is grappling with a new world order, driven by complex, intertwined issues such as food safety and traceability, proliferating audit schemes, higher quality standards, cost containment, and, of course, the critical need to grow fresh produce consumption worldwide. 

But that's all to be expected for a segment of the trade that's unquestionably undergone more transformation in the past decade than it had in the preceding five combined, says Tom Stenzel, president and c.e.o. of the Washington-based United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA), the national trade organization that represents growers, shippers, processors, retailers, brokers, wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers at every step in the farm-to-table pipeline.

In the weeks leading up to the move of the United Fresh Marketplace and FMI shows to Las Vegas from Chicago this month, Progressive Grocer caught up with Stenzel to hear his firsthand views about being COOL, eradicating lamentable "rolling recalls," overcoming obstacles, inclusivity, a willingness to tackle challenges, and the magic of the industry.

PG: Please handicap United Fresh's debut event in Las Vegas, from an attendance and expectation standpoint.

Stenzel: Moving out of Chicago seems like the obvious difference defining this year's event, but it's really about how we're bringing together our main shows -- FreshTech and Fresh Marketplace -- two unique events that serve very different needs for exhibitors and attendees.
While each show will have its own designated exhibit floor to ensure strong attendee focus, our board believed that offering the shows side by side over the same dates will increase the cost-effectiveness of the events to our industry while adding increased value. The co-location of the two shows also allows us to put together one overall convention program to serve attendees and exhibitors in both shows.

Exhibit sales are up by roughly 40 companies from last year, and attendance is looking very strong. There'll be a good retail presence coming to Vegas, and you can expect to see more produce retailers than we have in the past. [Safeway c.e.o.] Steve Burd is our keynoter, and I think produce folks are going to be pretty interested in hearing his message about what we as an industry need to do to impart better health and lifestyle changes.

PG: The produce industry certainly has had its share of "hot potatoes" to contend with in recent years, which has subsequently often found you and your fellow industry peers on the hot seat. How have you kept your composure throughout these trying times?

Stenzel: That's a really interesting question, and one that warrants two thoughts. One, the produce industry itself has showed a lot of composure tackling a variety of issues head-on, including what's been done with the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement; developing uniform standards for the tomato industry, which is very far along; and even products that have never been implicated in an outbreak that are currently focusing on best ag practices. The executives within these various sectors of the industry have shown a lot of grace under fire and a willingness to take on the challenges, vs. whining and avoiding them in hopes that they go away.

This stuff is very difficult and complicated, and some people have a hard time grappling with the changes. There's obviously been a little inertia to overcome some industry practices that have been followed for years, but many are really coming around.

As for the second part of my response, I think, from an association standpoint, the issues have required a lot of composure. It's been a stressful time in the industry -- people are going in a lot of different directions and have strongly held opinions. Emotions naturally tend to run high during stressful times like these, when people are facing the prospect of losing money or fearing what impacts the changes will have on their business.

Bringing people together in consensus and keeping the boat going in the same direction is really the most critical time as an association manager. So, at the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, in that sense I do feel pretty good about United, and our ability as an association to keep our eye on the long term.

The industry is more on top of the key issues than it's ever been, and we've scored some major breakthroughs with the new WIC program, the school snack program, and the favorable provisions of the Farm Bill.

Taking flak for safety

PG: Could you please elaborate on a specific industry "stress point," and the resulting tensions that occurred as a result?

Stenzel: Sure. When we came out about a year and a half ago and called for federal food safety regulations, we took a lot of flak for doing so from different quarters of the industry. But we felt it was the right thing to do, and we're now moving forward with steps in that direction. I think we will see Congress pass reform of new food safety laws, which I believe will be the kind of science- and sound judgment-based [legislation] that we've been advocating.
The same can be said of the Farm Bill, which will eventually incorporate a strong push for fruits and vegetables. So, in the face of feeling more challenged in the last couple of years because of the stress within industry, we've been able to keep our eyes on the long-term issues, and hopefully we're starting to turn some corners.

PG: The latest incident with Honduran cantaloupes has caused yet another round of questions, confusion, and frustration within the industry. What's your take?

Stenzel: If ever there was an example of why traceability standards are absolutely necessary, it's the cantaloupe situation, which resulted in just an awful situation with a rolling recall that caused everybody in the cantaloupe chain, including retailers, to suffer. There had been a dozen or more different recalls sequentially occurring every day, leaving the public to come to think that all cantaloupe was dangerous.

However, had we been able to punch a few keys on a computer, we could have known where throughout the system the product had gone, get it back, and been done with it.
It was a real problem, and I'm not even going to get into the debate over what the FDA did and didn't know in this situation. But suffice it to say, we still could have, and should have, been able to make it a one- or two-day story, rather than a two-week one.

PG: What role has United Fresh played in moving traceability standards forward?

Stenzel: The Produce Traceability Initiative we launched last year with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) is guided by a steering committee of more than 30 companies with balanced representation from the buying and selling community, and including participants from all segments of the supply chain.

PMA had been trying for five years to get it underway, and I give them credit for being ahead of their time. But our board of directors raised the subject independently last year that things were just not getting done, so we jumped in to kick-start efforts and offer direction for the way the industry should go. [At presstime] the task force has had two meetings, and we're seeing a pretty significant industry commitment toward a common database approach with GS1 standards for case coding.

PG: Do you have a feel for what the implementation timeline for uniform traceability standards looks like?

Stenzel: As much as I hate to say it, I'd say we’re looking at a three- to five-year time frame for industrywide implementation. Following the lead of the early adopters that are already on board, we expect to see many more people put the same coding systems in place and begin purchasing the scanning devices very soon.

In the case of individually packaged products like strawberries in clamshells, it's not that difficult. But the problem is, nobody is reading the data. A strawberry shipper knows what's on the pint and that it went out, but the receivers don't yet have a system to know where it went after it left the dock. And that's the big part about what's got to happen.

Nevertheless, by summer, I believe we'll see a strong commitment industrywide that says, "Here’s where we're going; here's the timeline; here's the plan of interim goals." But it will still be done over the course of a multiyear process.

PG: United Fresh recently concluded a series of town hall meetings in California. What surprised you most about them?

Stenzel: I was fully prepared and ready to talk about all the controversial issues we're facing as an industry. But what surprised me the most was how people wanted to talk about what we're doing to grow produce sales by increasing consumption. That's a powerful message, and our staff has been working hard on shaping national nutrition policies that will increase availability, accessibility and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

WIC's new food packages that include fresh fruit and vegetable vouchers of $8 for most moms and $6 for kids will help 8.2 million people increase their consumption, eat a healthier diet, and reduce their risk of becoming overweight and experiencing obesity and chronic diseases. For retailers, the policy change in WIC translates into $500 million in incremental sales of fruits and vegetables. Just getting these folks to walk around the produce department to see and try new, different things will help change their eating behaviors and will have a huge impact.

New York and California are among the first states that will begin implementing the WIC changes this year, while all states have until October of 2009 to fully implement them.

Keeping COOL

PG: After several delays, mandatory country-of-origin labeling for fresh produce is set to take effect on Sept. 30, 2008. What would you like the trade to know before that time?

Stenzel: COOL will have a significant impact on our industry. With everything that's happened in the last couple of years, particularly with Chinese imports, there's no going back; it's going to be mandatory. But I expect that it will be phased in without serious enforcement initially.

We published a white paper a few weeks ago that basically gives compliance guidelines to the industry, and that says, "Let's get going, and let's get ready." Wherever you have a packaged or PLU-stickered product, we're advising suppliers to go ahead and put a country-of-origin label on it; that's the most helpful thing for retailers we can do.

But for the bulk and small commodities that can't be packaged or stickered, retailers are going to have to do their part by putting up POS signs and information, which isn't going to be easy. But the more we can simplify the process now, the better. We realize retailers are angry about the law and don't like it, because they don't want to add additional costs to the system that will eventually get passed on to consumers. But our advice is, there's no use trying to buck it -- let's all try to make this as easy as possible.

PG: Do you have any thoughts on the November presidential election, or, more specifically, what will a new commander-in-chief mean for the industry?

Stenzel: Congress has ducked the immigration reform issue for far too long, and I believe that the next administration, no matter who that might be, will likely take it on as an early agenda item. All three candidates supported ag jobs in the Senate, and they've all been believers in comprehensive immigration reform.

The country needs to get this issue behind us, because what's happening now on a state-by-state basis is just awful. I know emotions are running high on all sides, but we really must deal with this in the right way and put it behind us.

PG: Changing gears, there are still members of the produce community that are in favor of one unified industry organization. Is this something that you would like to comment on?

Stenzel: This tends to be one of those things that come up for discussion on a cyclical basis. I think most people know that our board of directors would always support increased efficiencies, and we've evaluated on many occasions if there is a way to put both produce industry organizations together on a principled basis. But for some reason, we haven't been able to get there.

As an organization, we fight hard against needless duplication, against mindless competition, because resources are just too limited to do otherwise. But we're not going to give up our principles and our own vision. In addition to strong, aggressive leadership, we strive to be very inclusive with all sectors of the industry. We don't want dominance from one sector or another, but a total supply chain approach.

PG: We had a poll on our Web site -- Progressivegrocer.com -- that asked the trade to rate what they consider to be the most important attribute when selecting produce vendors. At the time of this interview, the following tabulation was recorded: Relationships/reliability ranked in first place, at 57 percent; followed by an even 20 percent split for year-round supplies and price; and then category management, at 3 percent. Does anything surprise you about those results?

Stenzel: You may have uncovered an interesting trend with your survey, which I found quite surprising. But I like it because I think it's probably illustrative of the industry consolidation, and some of the food safety issues at play that are creating more interdependence with retailers and suppliers.

Retailers can no longer just go with the cheapest price anymore, despite the many pressures they're facing to the contrary.

PG: United Fresh's Retail Produce Managers Awards program is extremely commendable. In your view, what do you consider to be the very best thing about the program, and why?

Stenzel: Showcasing the importance of what store-level teams do for our industry, and rewarding their skills and talents among the chief executives and senior produce officials who are in attendance at the show. These are the individuals on the front line of produce sales, and we're glad to say a small "thank you" to these men and women on behalf of the entire industry. Modeling their behavior is how we change an industry, and that's the beauty -- and the magic -- of the program.