The Packer Podcast

Randy Asadoor, CEO of Keystone Packing, and Sabrina Thakkar, director of the California Association of Food Banks's Farm to Family program, share the unique partnership between their organizations and the ever-growing need for fresh produce at food banks.

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LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing and communications with the Equitable Food Initiative, highlights this year's award, and shares the critical role farmworkers play in the fresh produce industry and why it's important to recognize them.

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John Ross, IGA CEO, shares his company's strategy to transition to 2D barcodes and the benefits the barcodes hold for the fresh produce industry.

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Matthew Aronson, chief revenue officer at Verdant Technologies, shares how his company deploys 1-MCP (1-methylcyclopropene) in a new and innovative way to offer better produce to retailers and cut down on the use of ice in shipping.

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Lucelena Angarita, director of food supply chain visibility at GS1 US shares why it's never too early to start preparing your fresh produce business for the Food Traceability Final Rule, which goes into effect on Jan. 20, 2026.

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In this episode, Mike Hemman, senior vice president of the North America Division of the drip irrigation solutions provider Netafilm, highlights some of the innovative ways his company integrates recycling into its drip irrigation products.

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Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers joins LeAnne Ruzzamenti, the director of marketing and communication for the Equitable Food Initiative to share ways to celebrate the vital role of farmworkers.

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Shay Myers, CEO of Owyhee Produce, is a third-generation farmer and also known as @shayfarmkid. Myers shares how he uses his social media platforms to talk about agriculture, why getting in front of the camera is important and how to connect with tho

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Leslie Gordon, president and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City discusses how the fresh produce industry contributes to feeding those in need.

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Darren Seifer, industry advisor for consumer goods and foodservice insights for Circana gives us a sneak peek of his GOPEX 2025 presentation, focusing on today's organic produce shopper and what drives their loyalty.

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Jeana Cadby, director of environment and climate for Western Growers talks about a working group with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association to address the changing produce packaging requirements imposed by governments and retailers and just how far the fresh produce industry has come in its use of sustainable packaging.  

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Michael Santiago, CEO of FloraPulse, shares how his company's easy-to-install water sensor can help specialty crop growers better recognize what's happening to the plant during the growing season.

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Steve Statler, chief marketing officer and head of food safety with Wiliot, shares the benefits that artificial intelligence and machine learning can provide the produce industry, especially in traceability.

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Cristie Mather, vice president of food at Curious Plot shares some insights learned of the company’s 2024 Consumer Curiosity Report and how retailers can use that intel to tap into new opportunities.

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James Nichols, a third-generation pistachio grower and president of HotSpot Ag, shares how data and innovative technology can help deploy water where its most needed.

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The CEO of Zag Technical Services joins the podcast to discuss why ag is one of the most vulnerable business segments to cyber attacks and what business owners can do to be better prepared.

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Stephanie Teclaw, quality program manager with RPE joins LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing and communications with the Equitable Food Initiative, to talk about how a sustainability course from EFI provided the resources and framework to analyze the company's current sustainability state and ensure a supportive culture and vision were in place. 

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Chris Pawelski, a fourth-generation farmer, returns to the podcast to discuss the importance of advocacy, how growers can get started and more.

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