Produce Talks

In this episode, we hear from different innovative companies and incubators about their products and how they have benefited from the Innovation Zone at the CPMA Convention and Trade Show. The first part features Mike Mauti interviewing Denise VanderVeen of CleanWorks , a produce innovator, and Andrew Wylie of Vineland Research and Innovation Centre . www.cleanworkscorp.com www.vinelandresearch.co...

This episode features CPMA President, Ron Lemaire , CPMA Board Member, Kendra Mills of the PEI Potato Board, and the 2023 CPMA Produce Champion, Member of Parliament (MP) Kody Blois , in a discussion about opportunities and key challenges within the fresh produce sector in Canada, and how Members of Parliament can help advance the goals of the Canadian agriculture sector. MP Blois has been the Mem...

In this episode, we listen to the recording of the Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA’s Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. Moderator Stewart Lapage from Oppy talks with 4 Passion for Produce Alumni. These young professionals talk about their experiences in the produce industry, including going through the COVID years and their thoughts on what’s next in the evolving workplace. Moderator: Stew...

This is the recording of a Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. Effective leadership is essential to ensure sustainability and innovation across the produce industry. This recording focuses on some female leaders who are helping move the food industry forward utilizing innovative solutions to challenges that impact the long-term sustainability of food in Canad...

In this episode, we’re excited to present the annual “Between Two Chairs” podcast. Ron Lemaire shares stories with the previous CPMA Chair Mario Masellis and current CPMA Chair Colin Chapdelaine . Mario is with Catania Worldwide and Colin Chapdelaine is with the Star Group. Listen as they tell us where the industry is going and how sustainability and innovation are keys to the future of the produc...

In this episode, we listen to the recording of the Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA’s Convention and Trade Show in Toronto. Supply chain challenges continue to impact the fresh produce industry. Compounding these issues, geopolitical, weather and economic impacts are now at the forefront of pressure to maintain the supply of fresh produce in a period of increasing concern about food prices. Ca...

Greg Ogiba is the Chair of the CPMA Education Committee and President of Mike and Mike’s. In this episode, Greg leads a discussion about mentorship and CPMA’s Passion for Produce Program with Jessica Levac of Bellemont Powell and Michael Wexler of the Oppenheimer Group. CPMA looks forward to hosting the next group of 18 Passion for Produce participants at the CPMA Convention and Trade Show April 2...

In this episode, CPMA’s registered dietitian, Jen Ong Tone , discusses money-saving tips to help consumers continue to eat healthy with fruits and vegetables. She is joined by Christina Iaboni and Laurence Vezina as they discuss ways to stretch your food dollars in a safe and healthy way and offer other tips from the halfyourplate.ca website. Play the Podcast Thank you to our podcast series sponso...

This episode tackles the challenging goal of reducing plastics in produce packaging. Daniel Duguay is CPMA’s packaging specialist and coordinator for the pilot project developing sustainable packaging guides for the food and produce industry. We hear about an innovative new product that is helping reduce plastic packaging in cucumbers. Daniel introduces the topic and leads the discussion with: • C...

This episode features a recording of one of the 2022 Convention and Trade Show Learning Lounges, Growing in Produce. Moderator Mike Catalano of The Wonderful Company discusses with other young professionals who are Passion for Produce program (PFP) alumni about how they started in the produce industry and their current roles. The panelists are: • Kevin Sorichetti , EarthFresh • Stephanie Myles , N...

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month in Canada. We welcome Johnny McGuire and Eric Regnier who are representing the Produce Supply Organization. The PSO is a not-for-profit organization that was established to help suppliers in the produce industry understand and use technology effectively. We have a discussion about cybersecurity and what organizations need to know and what they should be doi...

In this episode, CPMA President, Ron Lemaire and CPMA Chair, Mario Masellis of Catania Worldwide welcome the 2022 CPMA Produce Champion, Scot Davidson , the Member of Parliament (MP) for York-Simcoe. CPMA’s annual Produce Champion award is given to one or more Members of Parliament and/or a Senator who have been supportive of the produce industry and effective at bringing industry issues to the fo...

In this episode we feature the recording of a Learning Lounge from our recent Convention and Trade Show in Montréal. Listen now to Moderator Michèle McMillan of Ippolito Fruit and Produce, as she speaks with Julie Trepanier of The Wonderful Company, Susan Leung of Fresh Direct Produce and Jennie Coleman of Equifruit about their experiences in the produce industry. They share some interesting perso...

In this episode, we feature a recording of a Learning Lounge from the recent CPMA Convention and Trade Show. As we come out of the global pandemic, the disruptions in the supply chain are still a stress on the produce industry. Listen to some of the buyers for Canadian retailers to learn how they’ve had to adjust and how their expectations are shifting for today and into the future. Moderator: Mar...

CPMA President Ron Lemaire chats with past Chair Guy Milette of Courchesne Larose and current Chair Mario Masellis of Catania Worldwide. This annual Between Two Chairs special features them talking about the current produce industry challenges and issues and how our industry helps consumers continue to enjoy fresh produce in these challenging times. They also discuss their other activities during...

In today’s episode we feature a recording of a recent CPMA Learning Lounge from our 2022 Convention and Trade Show. Climate change, pesticide management, improving yields and growing in non-traditional areas are just some of the factors that influence how produce is grown. Listen now as our Moderator Steve Bamford of Fresh Advancements leads an informative discussion with some industry experts on...

In this episode of Produce Talks, Jeff Hall (CPMA’s Food Safety Specialist) talks to Dr Lawrence Goodridge and Dr Jeffrey Farber , both from the University of Guelph about the history and the technology of Whole Genome Sequencing. Jeff discusses this technology and how industry can apply it to food safety with Afreen Malik, Director of Science Programs at Western Growers. Whole Genome Sequencing o...

On this episode we are pleased to welcome CPMA’s Sue Lewis and Mike Mauti , Managing Partner of Execulytics Consulting as they discuss the recently released CPMA Canadian Marketplace Annual Report. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Canadian produce market for 2021. They discuss consumer trends in Canada, the growth of Canadian greenhouse grown and consumer perceptions about orga...

In this podcast we welcome Mr. Jorge Londono de la Cuesta who has been the Ambassador of Colombia to Canada since November 2020. Ambassador Londono speaks with CPMA President Ron Lemaire about the economic opportunities in his South American country. He also talks about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how his country is recovering economically. Listen to hear Ambassador Londono share his...

This edition of Produce Talks is a recording of our October webinar on the 2021 federal election results and the impact on the fresh produce industry. David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, shares his election analysis and insights, followed by a roundtable discussion with industry leaders on issues requiring federal government action. Current issues such as supply chain disruptions, labour shortages,...

In this episode, Ron Lemaire has a discussion with Larry McIntosh , a past Chair of CPMA and the 2021 Produce Person of the Year. Larry has spent 27 years in the produce industry, recently retiring as CEO of Peak of the Market. We talk about how the produce industry has evolved over years, the resilience of our sector and the future hurdles that we will continue to overcome. Among many other topic...

In this episode, we feature a discussion with the CPMA 2021 Produce Champion, Ontario Senator Rob Black , who is a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. CPMA's annual Produce Champion award is given to one or more Member(s) of Parliament and/or Senator(s) who have been supportive of the produce industry and effective at bringing industry issues to the forefront on Pa...

Sustainability has been a focus for the produce industry for many years and is a complex issue with multiple areas of focus. In Canada current areas of focus include the potential of a Canadian index to benchmark Agri-food sustainability, government focus on issues such as carbon credits and industry-led initiatives to improve sustainability. This episode provides industry insight on some of the k...

Foodborne illnesses continue to bed a source of concern within the fresh produce industry. CPMA asked two of Canada's top food safety professionals to join us in discussing recent outbreaks, the challenges in identifying outbreaks and what the future of outbreaks may look like. Lisa Sparrow-Moellenbeck, Food Safety Manager, Federated Co-operatives spoke with Joyce Cheng - Acting Manager Outbreak M...

On this special 100th episode of Produce Talks, Ron Lemaire, President of CPMA moderates a roundtable discussion with our Chair, Guy Milette of Courchesne Larose, and nine past CPMA Chairs including: Davis Yung of Fresh Direct Produce, Oleen Smethurst of Costco Wholesale Canada, Les Mallard of Fyffes, Rick Alcocer of Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Mike Furi of Federated Co-operatives Limited, Walt Breeden...