r/ProduceDepartment • • 24d ago

I'm the Senior Director for fresh goods at the country's most recognized certifier of Fair Trade produce and other products (Fair Trade USA). AMA!

24 Upvotes

My name is Leslie Simmons and I'm here to answer all your questions about Fair Trade Certification; greenwashing; what the Fair Trade label actually means for farmers, grocery stores, and consumers; and anything else you want to ask.

I'll be live with some colleagues right here in /ProduceDepartment on October 7 from 2-4 pm EST.

Click the Remind Me button to get a reminder for this event. And drop your questions early below, for us to start answering them as soon as we log on!

Want to learn more about Fair Trade before the AMA? Learn what Fair Trade means, how certification works, and why it matters.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks so much to everyone who asked questions and joined the conversation. I hope the conversation helped make Fair Trade a little less confusing and gave you some useful things to look for the next time you shop. 

If you have additional questions or want to learn more, feel free to visit us at https://www.fairtradecertified.org/. And be sure to follow our Reddit account, https://www.reddit.com/user/FairTradeUSA/, to stay connected and see more from Fair Trade Certified.

Thanks again!


r/ProduceDepartment • • Jul 26 '25

Discussion Welcome to the Produce Department!

19 Upvotes

Hello and welcome to the new produce sub! If you saw my post elsewhere, you’ll see that I created this sub since the main produce sub went private and no one seems to know what’s going on there.

I’d like to continue what that sub had going for it. Beautiful displays, interesting looking produce, asking for advice, etc.

If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see or how to make the subreddit better, please feel free to share! For example, I made some user flairs and post flairs, let me know if there’s others you’d like to see though I did leave it open for anyone to make their own flair.

I’m also new to modding so please be patient with me.

Thanks and have fun!


r/ProduceDepartment • • 2d ago

Granny Smith Apple still has leaf. 🍃

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33 Upvotes

r/ProduceDepartment • • 2d ago

When do fresh cranberries come out? Are they out yet?

7 Upvotes

r/ProduceDepartment • • 2d ago

Checking out the local open markets in the USA! Finding the best fresh produce for my upcoming recipes 🍅🇺🇸"

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0 Upvotes

r/ProduceDepartment • • 3d ago

Can y’all stop leaving your pits all over the store, please?

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67 Upvotes

Disgusting


r/ProduceDepartment • • 5d ago

Big Rainbow Tomato

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43 Upvotes

Heirloom Tomato 🍅


r/ProduceDepartment • • 5d ago

Have yall noticed how bad the bananas are now ?

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14 Upvotes

Everywhere I go the bananas are green or brown anyone else or does anyone know why


r/ProduceDepartment • • 9d ago

Giant jalapeño

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18 Upvotes

r/ProduceDepartment • • 12d ago

Can I still eat this? 😔

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8 Upvotes

I swear to god i bought this cantaloupe yesterday from walmart and it did not have all this. I left it out for 24 hours i go to take it out of the Walmart bag and it has mold on the outside. The inside is completely fine not slimy at all and it tastes normal. Im just really scared to eat it bc i get paranoid when it comes to bacteria and mold 😭😭


r/ProduceDepartment • • 13d ago

Monster tater

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28 Upvotes

Has anyone else come across insanely ridiculously large produce? I mean, would anyone actually buy this potato?! Post pics of any mutant produce lol


r/ProduceDepartment • • 13d ago

why does my garlic from trader joes go back so quickly?

2 Upvotes

is this just me? this doesn’t happen w garlic from other stores


r/ProduceDepartment • • 14d ago

voldemort?

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14 Upvotes

gala apple i found


r/ProduceDepartment • • 14d ago

Help for a new store/Co-op

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I just help open a new store/co-op and I am running our produce dept after my manager got herself fired. No and temp manager, I need help with a bunch of stuff like keeping my produce happy and keep from spoiling for as long as possible. Are there any sources anyone can point me to for help? I have full control on how I pack things for retail or store in the walk in.

I already know that I need to butt/cut the stems and soak something

But

I just learned after 1 month that leafy greens like green leaf or kale stay a lot longer if you store in the walk in a lidded tote with limited air flow. And this feels like basic knowledge that my old manager refused to teach me while she was there.

Please help lol.


r/ProduceDepartment • • 14d ago

Fresh Jamuns picked from our farm 💜🌿

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4 Upvotes

These Jamuns grow in our field. Freshly picked and served in leaves. 💜🌿


r/ProduceDepartment • • 15d ago

Leafy vegetable prices surge across Japan after prolonged rain

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5 Upvotes

SHIZUOKA -- Prices of leafy vegetables have surged at supermarkets across Japan, apparently due to prolonged rainfall nationwide, prompting sighs from shoppers at a supermarket in this central Japan city on Oct. 1.

At the produce section of the Tagoju Nishinakahara store in the city of Shizuoka's Suruga Ward, mizuna was priced at 376 yen (roughly $2.38) including tax, while lettuce and cabbage were each 322 yen (about $2.04) a head and a quarter head of Chinese cabbage was 290 yen (approx. $1.84).

"Vegetables are something I eat every day, so it's a problem when they get expensive," said a local woman in her 60s who was holding lettuce.

Store manager Katsumi Masuda said, "Leafy vegetable prices were stable in July and August, but from around mid-September we had no choice but to raise them. Rain has continued not only in Shizuoka but across the Japanese archipelago, and in every growing region, vegetables are underdeveloped and becoming difficult to secure."

High prices are expected to continue from October onward. However, prices have not risen for root vegetables such as carrots, onions and potatoes because of strong harvests. Masuda said, "Prices for root vegetables, cut vegetables and frozen vegetables are stable, so I hope people will make good use of them."

According to the Shizuoka Local Meteorological Office, late September in Shizuoka Prefecture was marked by frequent rainfall due to an autumn rain front and moist air, with some areas receiving heavy rain. Precipitation totaled about twice the normal level, while sunshine hours were limited to around two-thirds of normal.


r/ProduceDepartment • • 15d ago

Science Projects

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16 Upvotes

Yummy fruits


r/ProduceDepartment • • 17d ago

Wait, what?

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18 Upvotes

I have questions...


r/ProduceDepartment • • 17d ago

Bananas (produce) green 3 weeks

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4 Upvotes

It’s been 20 days, tried putting them in a paper bag for 4 days, no change, hard as a rock, bought at Costco. What do?


r/ProduceDepartment • • 17d ago

Naming conventions for produce?

6 Upvotes

Hi, I've been trying to do research but am struggling to find many resources pertaining to my specific ask, hopefully y’all can help!

I've been put in charge of cleaning up the product list for my job. We're basically the middle man between farmers/producers and wholesale markets (including grocery stores). We've let the producers name their own produce, and as a result, we now have thousands of items, many of which are similar or exactly the same but with completely different or confusing names. I need to create a standard for future products, and clean up the existing ones.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas or resources for how to make decisions about certain nomenclature. For example, right now, there is a product named "Peas, Snap ORG 10 lbs". I think it makes more sense to name it "Snap Peas | ORG | 10 lb" (we're going to switch to a vertical line rather than commas). I just think that a customer would search "snap pea" and not "pea, snap", you know? But how do I explain that in a way that can be applied to multiple products?

We also have categories; this is JUST for the product name. It needs to be easily identifiable for both the customer and producer. It also might show up in data reporting, but usually we just use the categories for that.

Another example is that there is winter squash, and summer squash. Do I keep the seasonal identifier, or omit them and change it to just "squash"?
Do I keep descriptors for products like "Peppers | Sweet | Bell | Green | ORG | 25 lb" or should I omit the "sweet" part? Should the hierarchy be ”Bell Peppers | Green | ORG | 25 lb”? Or “Peppers | Green Bell | ORG | 25 lb”? Just based on vibes, there's a kind of weird amount of |s in the former. The thing though is there are also ”Peppers | Chili | …” and it would be nice to keep the hierarchy of just “pepper”, you know? It feels more standardized. But again, it just reads as kind of awkward and clunky, and might make search results not appear. This kind of thing is incredibly interesting to me, I just have no idea how to make these decisions, and lots of our customers are grocery stores so maybe you all will have more informed opinions.

I've only been able to find resources related to processed food and like, what you're legally allowed to call things based on the ingredients used or what makes it qualify as napa cabbage vs green cabbage for ex., or organic vs conventional nomenclature, etc. What I'd like is some standardized resource for the hierarchy of produce by type. If anyone has resources or opinions that’d be much appreciated, thanks!


r/ProduceDepartment • • 18d ago

Favorite Apples

12 Upvotes

So, I love apples - the crispier the better! I don't like overly sweet although green apples aren't at the top of my list.

My favorite: Red Delicious

What's your favorite apple? And selfishly, what's your best recommendation for a super crisp, not overly sweet apple? Thanks in advance.


r/ProduceDepartment • • 19d ago

My Napa c(r)abbage

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4 Upvotes

What do I make of this? I bought it yesterday- like I’m already not interested in eating it, but I’m so annoyed. The second time its happened recently- chat tells me it’s a bug infestation, but I’d like to know. Maybe I’m just not familiar with cabbage? In which case, I guess maybe for future reference… Is it actually safe to eat or no?


r/ProduceDepartment • • 19d ago

Has anyone else noticed a correlation between the size of the rock on the ring and the number of tomatoes they need to squeeze before they buy one?

13 Upvotes

r/ProduceDepartment • • 19d ago

Any feedback on Fresh Point Cysco?

2 Upvotes

Looking for organic produce! We currently use Albert’s through UNFI and Sal Amato/Tucci Fresh in Colorado


r/ProduceDepartment • • 20d ago

Have a feeling it’s not just Canada

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26 Upvotes