LOS ANGELES, CA - Chiquita North America has announced a new dedicated banana shipping service and supply chain improvements to provide better service to its West Coast customers.

According to the company, the shipping service will reduce fruit transit time in half, resulting in 4-5 days from production to the Port of Hueneme-Los Angeles, CA. Thanks to the new service, Chiquita’s Western customers can look forward to fresher, higher quality bananas than ever before.

"All of us on the North America team are excited to deliver the freshest and highest quality Chiquita Bananas available to our customers," said Executive Vice President of Chiquita Fresh North America, Chris Dugan, in a press release. "In addition to recent investment in our farms, this is another example of how we continue look for new ways to improve our freshness, our everyday quality and the satisfaction of our customers."

Chiquita has also been engaged in a major refrigerated container renewal program. Beginning in 2014, it has now replaced 65 percent of its fleet to create more sustainable shipping practices. The company operates upwards of 15,000 refrigerated containers, which play a key role in the logistics of today’s banana supply chain. Improvements in the design and operating efficiency of containers has led to important environmental benefits including reduced electric power consumption, greenhouse friendly refrigerants, and use of insulation materials with reduced emissions footprint.

The impact of this fleet renewal is substantial, giving Chiquita the opportunity to save up to 35 percent on energy compared to old units, and electricity savings of 34 million kilowatt hours and an annual emissions reductions of 17,000 tons of CO2 per year is possible–equivalent to taking over 3,000 cars off the road every year. For additional information, please visit www.chiquita.com.

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Chiquita