Riehm says he moved part of the company’s operations and sales staff because of Blue Creek’s extensive greenhouse operations in Mexico. “It made sense for us,” he explains, “since so much of our business is in tomatoes grown in Mexico and Florida. We felt the need to be closer to our growers.”
Despite the recent move, however, Riehm notes, “a large portion of our sales and administrative operations are still in St. Charles and that’s worked out very well for the company and our employees.”
CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCE MARKET: THE 411
Address: 2404 S. Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60608-5300
(Located on the South Side of the city, off of I-55 near the intersection of Damen and South Blue Island avenues.)Phone: 847-585-0701
Email: info@cipm.org
Website: www.chicagoproducemarket.comHours:
Monday – Friday: 8 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday – reduced hours• Many merchants open at 3:30 or 4:00 am; individual business hours may vary.
• Closed Sundays, as well as New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.Available Services:
Value-Added
• Fruit ripening
• Custom repacking
• Packaging
• Private labelsTransportation
• Truckload consolidation
• Cross-docking
• Daily delivery by ground or airFactoids:
• Opened in 2001
• State-of-the-art facilty
• 20-plus produce businesses
• Multigenerational vendors
Food Safety
While the implementation of several Food Safety Modernization Act rules this year will be a victory as a result of the most significant food safety reform in 70 years, its progress and rulemaking process has also generated much trepidation, especially for smaller operations and the costs of compliance. The good news is a graduated schedule for implementation, depending on size. This is also good news for the receivers and distributors who source locally-grown fruits and vegetables in the area.
“If you want to sell to the big full-line distributors and chains, you have to have all your ducks in a row food safety-wise,” comments Pappas at Coosemans. “When we first started in the mid-1990s, people would bring in wild morels (mushrooms), covered with dirt. We can’t purchase food that way today. What if they were contaminated by some toxin?
“Having a paper trail documenting proper handling is essential,” Pappas continues. “More small companies are complying, which gives us more sources for product. If you’re a serious grower, you’re going to comply. It allows us to provide more local produce, and we can be confident of its safety. That’s good for business,” he concludes.
Scott Weber, a partner in the Ruby Robinson Company, Inc., a distributor and grower-shipper located in Buffalo Grove, a northern suburb of Chicago, adds, “We have a whole department dedicated to food safety that makes certain all our suppliers comply with traceability. If they can’t validate food safety, we can’t buy from them.” To Weber, the equation is simple: as more companies comply, there is more safe product, and this should give customers peace of mind.
Enriquez concurs, finding a substantial number of “customers as well as consumers are demanding traceability. Everyone down the line is concerned about food safety and FSMA will make sure more of our suppliers can comply.”
