May 15, 2017

Finalists named for United Fresh Innovation Awards

United Fresh has announced the 46 new products as finalists for the United Fresh Produce Association’s 2017 Innovation Awards. This year’s finalists will compete in five categories for the title of Best New Product at United Fresh 2017, June 13-15 in Chicago. Show attendees will be able to vote for those winners during the trade show.

The 2017 United Fresh Innovation Awards finalists are listed below by category, along with descriptions provided by United Fresh.

Best New Food Safety Solution

Edipeel by Apeel Sciences — Apeel Sciences – Booth #FTZ3

Made from edible plant extracts, Edipeel allows organic and conventional growers to protect produce with an ultra-thin, invisible barrier, preventing oxidation and water loss – keeping fruit fresher longer and reducing reliance on pesticides. Apeel’s solutions are recognized by the FDA as safe to eat and are approved for use on organics.

Arizona LGMA Metrics 101 — Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement – Booth #3948

After pioneering a comprehensive food safety training program for the leafy greens industry, Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement and Food Safety Committee has continued to fill voids in education. The most recent manifestation of this is “Arizona LGMA Metrics 101,” an online, free, interactive training that focuses on “The Metrics.”

FlashLink BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Wireless Solution — DeltaTrak, Inc. – Booth #3827

Continuously track temperature, humidity and location in cold storage facilities, and monitor precoolers for maximum efficiency of pallet throughput. View data with a smart phone from 100 feet away without opening doors. No PC, software, infrastructure or equipment needed. Information is archived in the cloud for Food Safety and HACCP programs.

FoamClean 317-SP — Madison Chemical Co., Inc. – Booth #4046

FoamClean 317-SP is an alkaline one-step product for removal of oxalate films without the need for acid. It comes in the convenience of a foaming application to reach any area. The thick foam will cling to surfaces, while the low surface tension and proprietary blend penetrate and remove the film.

Food Freshness Card — Nature’s Frequencies – Booth #4436

The Food Freshness Card is laboratory and commercially tested to keep fruits, vegetables and breads fresher longer. Naturally extend the freshness and life of your produce and flowers with this new easy to use award winning technology. We guarantee to reduce shrink and spoilage in your supermarket and commercial facility.

ScanX Technologies Real Time Pathogen and Pesticide Detection Instrumentation — ScanX Technologies, Inc – Booth #FTZ18

ScanX’s proprietary spectral fingerprinting technology enables real time testing for pathogens and contaminants, on more targets with less expensive equipment. By increasing the speed, scope, and simplicity of food testing, ScanX will reduce food bone illness, reduce food waste, protect users brands and improve the efficiency of perishable supply chains.

TracMap Spray Management System — TracMap – Booth #FTZ9

A job management system for tractor sprayers that solves the hidden problem of missed rows, wrong rows, double spray and incorrect spray diary records. The result is safer high quality food with reduced risk of product residue, and more production for less cost.

Best New Fruit Product

Crunch Pak Apple Rings — Crunch Pak – Booth #3723

To continue providing convenient, healthy options for the consumer, Crunch Pak has released a new wholesome snack – Apple Rings. Ready-to-eat and perfect for recipes, Apple Rings give people a chance to get creative with their recipes and snacking options. A variety of options – from sweet, tart and a mixed!

YES!BERRIES Your Everyday Snack! — Del Fresco Produce – Booth #2447

Jam packed full of vitamin C these outrageously sweet strawberries are greenhouse grown in Canada. DelFrescoPure YES!BERRIES Your Everyday Snack! are picked at the peak of perfection and crammed full of flavor in every berry bite.  Simply add to your much-loved breakfast smoothie, dessert or salad. Best of all they are delicious on their own!

Del Monte Smoothie Kit — Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc. – Booth #2211

Del Monte’s new Smoothie Kit line is 100 percent fresh, healthy, and convenient. With more consumers trying to eat better, these kits give your customers an easy and fun way to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. All of our kits are ready to blend; simply add liquid and ice!

Sonatural Juices – GINGER UP range — GL, SA – Booth #2335

Ginger up your life, be healthy and enjoy! Taste the best Fruits and Vegetables from the Mediterranean mixed with all the benefits of Ginger. Whether you need energy for the day or you need to chill out, Ginger UP is the solution! For more info: [email protected]; www.glsa.pt.

Naturipe Snacks — Naturipe Farms, LLC – Booth #3415

Healthy and convenient Naturipe Snacks pair fresh sweet berries and grapes with creamy cheese and crunchy nuts in a variety of tastefully curated flavor combinations ranging from sweet to savory, mild to spicy.

5 River Islands Cherries – Stemilt Growers, LLC – Booth #2429

5 River Islands hand-picked cherries from Stemilt share the unique California Delta region and why it is a world renowned place to farm fresh produce, including sweet Stemilt cherries. Telling the story of the locale with shoppers entices them to act on impulse purchases and drives sales of high-ring cherries.

Best New Packaging

Eat Smart Salad Shake Ups — Apio, Inc. – Booth #3051

Eat Smart Salad Shake Ups NEW single-serve salad kits come with an interior tray that serves as a lockable lid making it conveniently easy to mix the toppings and dressing.

Mini Mixers Gourmet Snacking Tomatoes — Del Fresco Produce – Booth #2447

Our Mini Mixers stems from an all in one approach to flavor, texture, and variety. Keeping your taste buds in suspense with every bite, these gourmet snacking tomatoes are a truly unique experience. DelFrescoPure invites you to explore our new top seal packaging with extra security features. Tamper proof technology gives peace of mind to retailers and consumers.

Dole GO Berries! —  Dole Food Company – Booth #2223

Dole GO Berries! lets berries go where you go. Fun 3-packs deliver snap, rinse and go convenience of perfect snack portions of berries anytime, anywhere. Increased airflow around berries aids cooling and improves freshness. Made with 70 percent recycled PET without adhesive labels, offering better recyclability. Sleeve is Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified.

Pete’s Living Greens Living Strips — Hollandia Produce L. P. (Pete’s Living Greens) – Booth #2531

The revolutionary Home Harvest Pack from Pete’s Living Greens in a premium, patent-pending container for housing living salad strips, ensuring freshness, quality and taste for 18 days. Its key feature is an innovative root compartment that keeps roots contained and countertops clean while consumers harvest their salad at home.

SUNSET Minzano Pasta Kit — Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET – Booth #3018

Beat the mid-week blues with SUNSET’s all-new Minzano Pasta Kit, a convenient pack that contains everything you need for a fresh and flavorful 15-minute pasta dinner. The kit combines SUNSET’s fresh Minzano saucing tomatoes with perfectly portioned pasta and expertly mixed seasonings, hand-selected by Roger Mooking.

Veggies to Go — Mucci Farms/Mucci International Marketing Inc. – Booth #3423

Now kids can enjoy their favorite veggies in 1 convenient package! Featuring our new EZsnap top seal packaging, they’re perfect for lunches and on-the-go snacking. Comes in three varieties.

brighthouse organics Vine Ripened Tomatoes — NS Brands, LTD – Booth #3652

Introducing New Brighthouse Organics Vine Ripened Tomatoes. Our transparent recycled (and recyclable) packaging protects tomatoes in transport and in-store and helps extend freshness at home.  We merge the best of traditional farming with the latest greenhouse technology to yield simply better tomatoes.

Mini Munchies — Pure Flavor – Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. – Booth #2611

Mini Munchies are the perfect addition to any kid’s lunch or on-the-go snack. It’s the perfect mix of Pure Flavor’s classic, juicy Juno Bites grape tomatoes, sweet Aurora Bites mini peppers and cool Poco Bites cocktail cucumbers.

Heavenly Villagio Marzano 5oz ready-to-eat snack bag — Village Farms – Booth #3251

Heavenly Villago Marzano is an exclusive variety to Village Farm.  This authentic mini san marzano tomato is now being offered in a wonderful snack size 5oz grab-and-go bag. Item is washed and ready to eat which makes smart snacking more accessible to health conscious consumers.

Take Two! — Wish Farms – Booth #2253

This attention-grabbing design stands out from traditional strawberry packaging. Encouraging consumers to buy more, there will be a natural gravitation toward its eye-catching graphics and convenient, sturdy handle. The marketing and promotional possibilities are endless and its versatility allows retailers to easily convert to 1 pound units, if desired.

Best New Packaging/Processing Equipment

VeTrac e-Drive Planting/Harvesting Rig — BrimaPack BV – Booth #4043

The VeTrac is a self-propelled, electro driven, caterpillar tracked rig. This multifunctional platform can carry and support harvesting, packing, bundling or planting equipment for a wide range of vegetables, salads and herbs. The innovative e-Drive system delivers very low fuel consumption, low noise emission and is uniquely precise on driveability.

FTNON CoreTakr — FTNON USA, Inc. – Booth #4215

Robotic de-coring for iceberg lettuce. This innovation combines intelligent gripper technology with the latest robotic techniques, advanced data management and 3D cameras. This combination results in high productivity and efficiency. It de-cores up to 1,800 heads/h, with a yield up to 96 percent. The CoreTakr is designed to stringent hygienic standards.

Full Harvest — Full Harvest – Booth #FTZ15

B2B online platform connecting farms to food & beverage businesses to sell discounted surplus and imperfectly shaped produce that would have otherwise gone to waste. Our mission is to eliminate food waste at the farm level, while bringing additional revenue to farmers and lowering the cost of healthy food production.

AW-5600FX — New Brunswick International – Booth #3726

The AW-5600FX from NBI Digi is our latest integrated weigh-wrap-labeler. It is designed to wrap fragile trays, irregular shapes, and will even wrap items with no tray at all. Targeted for use in produce, cheese, and seafood departments, the Digi AW-5600FX packs efficiency and ease of use into its small footprint.

Self Propelled Water Jet Automated Harvesting Machine — Ramsay Highlander, Inc. – Booth #4043

All stainless steel self propelled automated harvesting machine using ultra high pressure water jets (water knifes) to cut lettuce at the ground. So there is no need for workers on the ground performing step over labor. This machine reduces the labor required to harvest lettuce in the field by more than 20 people.

Automatic Spin Dryer Mod. Vortex — Turatti Srl – Booth #4411

The new model Vortex from Turatti, is a fully automatic spin dyer combining high capacity de-watering with gentle handling of the product. The system features an innovative patented basket with revolutionary external fins to enhance water evacuation even at very low rotations. Vortex is coming in different configurations and sizes.

Best New Vegetable Product

Self Propelled Water Jet Automated Harvesting Machine — Ramsay Highlander, Inc. – Booth #4043

All stainless steel self propelled automated harvesting machine using ultra high pressure water jets (water knifes) to cut lettuce at the ground. So there is no need for workers on the ground performing step over labor. This machine reduces the labor required to harvest lettuce in the field by more than 20 people.

Automatic Spin Dryer Mod. Vortex — Turatti Srl – Booth #4411

The new model Vortex from Turatti, is a fully automatic spin dyer combining high capacity de-watering with gentle handling of the product. The system features an innovative patented basket with revolutionary external fins to enhance water evacuation even at very low rotations. Vortex is coming in different configurations and sizes.

Ugly Greens — Gotham Greens – Booth #2824

By growing locally and year-round in NYC and Chicago, Gotham Greens significantly reduces the food waste that results from long-distance transportation. But sometimes, even their highly-pampered greens get blemished during harvesting and packaging. Gotham Greens is diverting food waste by selling these local greens at a discount to local retailers.

Green Giant Fresh Vegetable Noodle Line — Growers Express/Green Giant Fresh – Booth #3031

Not one to be left out of a fabulous and flavorful food trend, Green Giant Fresh introduces five exciting new fresh vegetable noodle items—Beet Noodles, Butternut Squash Noodles, Carrot Noodles, Sweet Potato Noodles and Zucchini Noodles. A variety of versatile options that’s sure to satisfy everyone’s palate preferences.

Chef Inspired Soup — Kitchen22 LLC – Booth #2928

Our chef-inspired soup blends deliver maximum nutrition as well as a genuine homemade taste. Complete with delicious varieties from all over the taste spectrum, Kitchen22’s soups offer convenient and healthy options for every palate. This leaves you with only one decision to make: “spoon or sip?!”

SUNSET Dill It Yourself Pickle Kit — Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET – Booth #3018

Not your typical pickle! This sandwich-topping favorite gets a fresh facelift that’s quick and easy to make. Each pail contains fresh SUNSET cucumbers and a packet of spices to create dill-icious homemade pickles overnight. It’s the real dill!

“Cherto” Gourmet Tomatoes on the Vine — Mucci Farms/Mucci International Marketing Inc. – Booth #3423

These vibrant, deep red cherry tomatoes are kept on-the-vine to achieve traditional tomato flavor and freshness. This irresistible bite-sized variety is the perfect portion for snacking, boasting a high flavor profile and brix reading of 10+. New to the fresh produce category, this product is available in a 1.5 pound re-sealable top seal container.

TOMZ Snacking Tomatoes — NatureFresh Farms – Booth #3231

Every flavor provides a sensory experience that distinguishes itself. A tomato’s flavor is a consumer’s most immediate and visceral experience with the variety. NatureFresh Farms developed its TOMZ Snacking Tomatoes to meet consumer expectations that when they enjoy a snacking tomato in July, October, or February, that the flavor is plentiful and consistent each and every time.

Leafy Fresh — Pure Flavor – Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. – Booth #2611

Crisp. Refreshing. Invigorating. Leafy Fresh lettuce is the newest addition to Pure Flavor’s unique product line. Available in five varieties in multiple combinations, Leafy Fresh satisfies all flavor enthusiasts.

Fresh Prep’d Soup Kits — Ready Pac Foods – Booth #2615

Ready Pac Foods Fresh Prep’d Soup Kits – a quick and convenient soup that’s truly fresh!  Each soup is packed with crisp vegetables and lean protein. Ingredients are kept separate to maintain freshness, taste and texture.  Just add water, heat and enjoy a soup that tastes more like homemade!

Red Sun Farms Organic Grapes — Red Sun Farms – Booth #2444

A deep rich red, organic grape tomato that delivers a burst of juiciness with a nice crunch. Available year round, this tomato is sure to provide an excellent experience.

PRO 2 snax to the max Baby Carrots, Turkey Sausage Bites, Mild Cheddar Cheese & Almonds — Reichel Foods, Inc. – Booth #2529

The next generation of PRO 2 snax has arrived! The “Snax to the Max” product line offers protein-packed meals, made-up of snacks. These new items are targeted towards consumers that are looking for a healthy and convenient protein-packed meal solution. These products will be an excellent addition to your produce section.

Garden Highway Veggie Noodles — Renaissance Foods Group – Booth #2811

Veggie Noodles are a healthy alternative to traditional pasta, available in four varieties – Zucchini, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, Butternut/Sweet Potato blend – and feature a clear label with colorful graphics, highlighting product freshness. Packed in a tamper-evident clamshell, Veggie Noodles are trending amongst consumers for their versatility, health benefits and convenience.

Stir Fry Meal Kits — Taylor Farms – Booth #3451

Taylor Farms’ line of vegetable Stir Fry Meal Kits come in four delicious varieties – Teriyaki, Ginger Garlic, Sesame Chili and Mandarin Orange. Each kit includes authentic stir fry sauce and a unique combination of “on-trend” vegetables including Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy and peas.

Veggie Noodle Co. Veggie Spirals; Veggie Noodle Co. Veggiccine — Veggie Noodle Co. – Booth #2241

At Veggie Noodle Co., we believe in simple nutrition. That’s why we’ve pioneered the first pre-packaged all organic spiralized vegetables! Available in Zucchini, Sweet Potato, Butternut and Beet, ourspirals are a healthy alternative to grain-based noodles.

The 2017 United Fresh Innovation Awards finalists will be displayed on the trade show floor at United Fresh 2017 in Chicago, where attendees will have the opportunity to cast their votes for their favorite new and innovative products on Wednesday, June 14 and Thursday June 15. The winner in each category will be determined by total votes received as of 2 p.m. Thursday, June 15. United Fresh will announce winners at the Innovation Awards Area in the center of the show floor on Thursday, June 15 at 3 p.m.

For more information about the United Fresh Innovation Awards competition contact John Toner, vice president, Convention & Industry Collaboration, at 202-303-3424.