UC Davis' Dr. Marita Cantwell Discusses the Postharvest Technology Center's Fresh-Cut Workshops
DAVIS, CA - The University of California, Davis’, Postharvest Technology Center is celebrating its 20th year of Fresh-cut Workshops by doing something a little different.
Dr. Marita Cantwell, a faculty member in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis and Convener of the workshops since its inception, took the time to tell me about how the department is changing things up to mark this milestone.
“We have been conducting workshops every year in September, doing three-day workshops on fresh-cut produce, and this is our twentieth year of doing that,” Dr. Cantwell tells me. “As part of that we have aligned ourselves with International Societies for Horticultural Science (ISHS) to put together this international conference for fresh cut produce.”
As a way of broadening what is presented and bringing more focus to matters that would interest those involved in the produce industry, this year’s three-day workshop will have several keynote speakers focusing on main topics like:
- Quality & Product Development
- Temperature & Handling Logistics
- Preparation & Processing
- Packaging & Modified Atmospheres
- Food Safety & Sanitation
- Marketing & Consumer Acceptance
“We have a more international group of speakers, each bringing their own specific expertise,” Dr. Cantwell said. “It is a research conference while still trying to provide good coverage of those topics.”
The Fresh-cut Workshops began in 1995 when fresh-cut products started to become an important component of the industry, she tells me, explaining that there was a need for research and clarification when it came to fresh-cut products as they began to really take off.
“There was a lot that we and the industry did not know about the sanitation, packaging, marketing demands, and things like that. Things we did not at one time have answers to have become more clear throughout the years.”
Now it is a tradition to bring current research and information to the forefront of industry eyes. This year’s larger workshop will attract a number of industry participants from all over, and aside from “Cutting Edge” talks from keynote speakers, will offer an academic panel comprised of foodservice operators, retailers, and researchers who will discuss how research can work more efficiently with the industry in terms of trying to resolve issues, as well as an optional post-workshop technical tour in Salinas, California.
“We really have a terrific core of keynote speakers who are going to cover many topics of interest to the industry both here and internationally,” Dr. Cantwell said.
The workshop and conference will take place at the UC Davis Conference Center September 13th-16th, with the optional post-conference technical tour on September 17th-18th. Due to several attendees not being local, the deadline to register as an attendee or a presenter has been postponed to July 31st. Anyone interested in attending will want to sign up soon, as capacity is limited and late registration fees begin on August 1st.
