Field To Fork

Agriculture Lessons From China

What can we learn from China? Food Logistics’ managing editor Brielle Jaekel speaks with Xavier Naville, author of the Lettuce Diaries, to learn from his experience working in agriculture in China. Naville details how companies can attribute lessons learned to Western industries based on sustainability and more.

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Closing the Labor Gap

Workforce development in the cold food supply chain is not a new concept. Cold food processors, distributors, carriers, software developers and more all hire, onboard, train and re-train employees. And, all companies within the cold food supply chain struggle with the same challenges—driver shortage, labor shortage, high turnover, lack of quality talent and more. In fact, one of the biggest challenges impacting the supply chain to date is labor. So, how does an industry so plagued with labor challenges work to close the gap? Industry experts provide some insight on how retention programs, expanded diversity efforts and further supply chain education help close the labor gap.

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4 Tips for Preserving Food Safety Across the Supply Chain

To prevent food safety breakdowns, it’s first important to understand the potential risks along the supply chain as food moves from farm to fork. The food safety barricade is only as strong as its weakest link. From a brand equity and trust standpoint, restaurants and foodservice retailers have the most to lose, as that is the point at which the consumer obtains the tainted food.

However, logistics companies, transportation providers and farmers should also sit up and take notice, as they may also lose trust among their customers or become the subject of lawsuits. In this expert column, Michael Sperber, global business manager for Underwriters Laboratories (UL)’s Everclean audit program, details four steps stakeholders in the food supply chain can take to reduce foodborne illness and contamination incidents.

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Non-Profit Foundation Aims to Reduce Food Waste and Fight Food Insecurity

Lineage Logistics, LLC launched the Lineage Foundation for Good, an independent non-profit aimed at reducing food waste and fighting food insecurity to support the global communities where over 21,000 of Lineage’s team members live and work. The goal is to improve the global food supply chain’s carbon imprint, reimagine industry processes that have historically led to food waste and quickly redirect food to be distributed to communities around the world.

“The Lineage Foundation for Good creates a realtime link to redirect for donation quality products from food producers and manufacturers that might otherwise go to waste,” says Greg Lehmkuhl, Lineage’s president and CEO. “The foundation will further fuel our purpose to help feed the world and reimagine the global food ecosystem by limiting its environmental impact through food waste.”

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Companies Showcase Social Responsibility and Environmental Governance

Nearly 60% of companies have implemented an environmental management system (EMS) to help their companies continuously improve their environmental performance, according to an ISN report.

“While environmental issues were once the main focus of sustainability initiatives, there has recently been heightened attention to managing social responsibility and ensuring proper governance policies,” says Brian Callahan, president and COO at ISN. “By leveraging the data collected in the 2021 ESG white paper, companies and contractors can identify the risk areas in ESG management and take action to successfully meet their sustainability goals.”

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On-Site Operations Leaders Must

lovelyday12 - Adobe Stock Prioritize Sustainability Efforts Research from Samsara and conducted by

Wakefi eld Research points to a desire for on-site operations leaders to make meaningful change, as 78% of operations and fl eet leaders agree that they have a greater responsibility to prioritize sustainability efforts than other industries. These leaders (91%) also feel signifi cant pressure is being put on their organization to set and meet aggressive sustainability goals, including from the government (54%), suppliers/partners (44%) and even competitors (44%).

“This research highlights the huge opportunity for the world of physical operations to push sustainability forward, and shows just how important technology is to enable this change,” says

Alexander Stevenson, VP of product management at Samsara.

“While many leaders are facing setbacks, they are also gaining access to new tools that can help realize their goals. Be it the ability to digitize operations or the growth of electric vehicles, there are a lot of advancements helping to make sustainable choices easier.”

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HIGH-BAY WAREHOUSE FOR HIGH-BAY DEEP FREEZE WAREHOUSE FOR INTRALOGISTICS DEEP FREEZE AT ITS BEST INTRALOGISTICS

AT ITS BEST In Burley, Idaho, NewCold celebrated the grand opening of one of the largest frozen storage facilities of its kind. This impressive project includes a high bay warehouse with 90,000 pallet positions supplied by SSI SCHAEFER.

The demand for deep-freeze products continues to grow. As volumes increase, requirements placed upon deep-freeze logistics are getting more complex. SSI SCHAEFER offers flexible, modular, and scalable solutions that optimize storage, picking processes, and profitability within cold storage facilities.

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Weathering Supply Chain Disruptions

Severe weather has become a signifi cant threat to the supply chain industry. Beyond events like hurricanes, winter storms and wildfi res causing port closures and shipment delays, the impact of weather on the supply chain is felt more acutely because of the fact that more people now live in areas most prone to weather disasters. At the same time, consumers have grown accustomed to quicker delivery speeds, and suppliers have shifted to just-in-time manufacturing models that promote near-zero inventory. With very little raw materials on hand for an extended period, even the slightest hiccup in the process can cause major problems throughout the supply chain, including delays to other manufacturers in addition to consumers.

In this expert column, Peter Steinfeld, SVP of safety solutions, AlertMedia, details how to prepare for weather-induced supply chain disruptions. Scan the

QR code now to read this expert column. Crime, Climate and Convergence Rank as Top Global Supply Chain Risks

James ew AdobeStock_263959295 Crime, climate and convergence emerge as dominant risks to the global supply chain, according to a BSI report. “The past few years have put a spotlight on global supply chains and reinforced their crucial role in our day-to-day life. Because of this unprecedented moment, the supply chain is about to have a make-or-break year and needs to be right at the top of the C-suite agenda. It’s clear that the importance of supply chains will only increase as we head into 2022, and the steps organizations take now will ultimately determine their success or failure,” says Susan Taylor Martin, chief executive at BSI. BSI saw the numbers and quantities of cocaine seizures in Europe increase steadily in 2020 and 2021 and are expected to continue to rise in 2022. Another overarching threat to supply chains is the risk that individual considerations such as business continuity, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and security are not addressed comprehensively.

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How Supply Chain Strikes Impact the Labor Shortage

Employees from a variety of companies in various cold food and beverage sectors are going on strike, thus further complicating an already complex labor shortage. Food Logistics’ managing editor Brielle Jaekel sits down with Mischa Fisher, chief economist from Angi, to talk about why this is happening and what can be done for future resilience.

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Online Learning Platform Provides Cobot Application Know-How

OnRobot launched Learn OnRobot, a free online training platform that guides users step-by-step through the process of designing and deploying cobot applications featuring grippers, vision cameras, processing kits and sensors. “OnRobot’s solutions break down the barriers to automation adoption by making affordable, industry ready, easy-to-use technologies available to companies of all sizes,” says Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO of OnRobot. “Learn OnRobot continues this democratizing, barrier-busting tradition by making collaborative application know-how freely available to anyone with an internet connection, from prospective customers curious about our offerings to partners to integrators and to end users of all skill levels looking to maximize the success of their automation deployment.”

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