NOGALES, Ariz. (Sept. 14, 2015) In order to face an evolving and competitive market and to take advantage of the great opportunities for growth and strengthening of all business, the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas has developed a series of seminars to address emerging and ongoing industry issues. The seminars will take place between the months of September and December.

“We are actively seeking ways to improve the well-being of our business members, we want to make sure to provide high quality material according to the needs an interest expressed by them. We are certain that these seminars will positively affect the everyday operations as well as the industry as a whole”
Lance Jungmeyer, president, FPAA

The seminars will cover topics that affect internal aspects of the business’ operation such as temperature control, building strong relationships with clients, and creating a risk assessment plan for packing, storage, distribution, processing and manufacturing.

They will also cover outside conditions that could represent opportunities or potential threats for the Nogales fresh produce industry. Among these, an inside view of what works and what does not when trying to enter the Canadian market or how the tomato supply and demand could be seriously affected by the saturation effect as a result of the proliferation of greenhouses prepared to serve local markets.

The total of eight seminars will be conducted by highly trained and experts in each area as follows:

Oct. 7, Temperature Matters- Keep Produce out of the Kill Zone and Save Money! by post-harvest quality expert, Dennis Kihlstadius The program is ideal for warehouse managers, shippers and those working on quality control.

Oct.8, The Saturation Effect- Tomato Market by Roberta Cook of University of California-Davis, a pre-eminent economist in the produce industry.

Oct. 12- 13, HACCP Training and FSMA Preventative Control Update by Ingrid Peñuelas, an expert in food safety management and quality assurance in manufacturing, agriculture and in facility audits. The course is ideal for Managers, Supervisors, HACCP team members and personnel new to HACCP or needing a refresher. This is a prerequisite for taking GFSI level training such as SQF, BRC, Primus GFS, and others.

Oct.15, Make It Personal — Connecting and Building Relationships with Clients and Staff by Bill O’Neill, former publisher of the Packer and vice president of Vance Publishing. He was famous for remembering small details about people he hadn’t seen in years; O’Neill earned the respect of colleagues and business partners alike.

Nov. 18, Getting Produce to Market, and Getting Paid in Canada – 2015-16 North American Transportation Preview and PACA-like Trust Update by CH Robinson with participation of Fred Webber of DRC (the Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation)

Nov.12, MakingAdjustments In Accordance with the Tomato Suspension Agreement by Kip Martin, lawyer of Coogan & Martin. He has been closely connected to the produce international trade for many years and along with his business partner Daniel J. Coogan is one of the few lawyers in the U.S. with knowledge of administrative regulations and procedures under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930.

Dec. 10, Cuba: Analyzing its Potential in the Winter Vegetable Deal By William Messina is an Agricultural Economist at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He has been tracking the state of the produce industry in Cuba since the 1990s.

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More information can be obtained by calling the FPAA at (520) 287-2707 or via email at info@freshfrommexico.com.