US Foods launched its latest COVID-19 online operator resource, the US Foods Restaurant Reopening Blueprint. The Restaurant Reopening Blueprint provides operators with a how-to for putting key COVID-19 guidelines into practice as they plan reopening efforts. The Restaurant Reopening Blueprint is informed by interviews with key stakeholders such as diners, restaurant staff and US Foods consultants and chefs. Interviews were also conducted with operators and diners in China to understand what learnings might be applicable for U.S. restaurant operations.

The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) named Matthew Ott, CAE, the organization’s new President & CEO. Ott will assume his new role on June 1st and succeeds outgoing President & CEO, Corey Rosenbusch who left the Association earlier this year to take the helm as President & CEO of The Fertilizer Institute.

Flowers Foods, producer of Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, and other bakery foods, reported financial results for the company’s 16-week first quarter ended April 18, 2020. Sales increased 6.8% to $1.349 billion, including an estimated 6.5% to 7.5% increase attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales for the same 16-week period in 2019 were 1.263 billion.

Smithfield Culinary, the foodservice unit of Smithfield Foods, the nation’s leading pork processor, has donated $25,000 to the Ferdinand Metz American Culinary Federation (ACF) Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to chefs, culinarians, and foodservice workers across America who are experiencing hardship in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

See the latest dairy and dairy alternative products currently in retail cold cases.

Learn how to create and reinforce food safety culture at your operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods catches up with Palermo Villa to see how the company has grown since it was named our 2016 Frozen Foods Processor of the Year, and learn more about its latest pizza innovations for the freezer aisle in 2020.

See what best practices companies like Hormel, KanPak, and A M King have implemented to improve sustainability and achieve real results.

In this exclusive excerpt from Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ From the Cold Corner podcast, Lowell Randel from the GCCA details how the cold chain pivoted to meet retail demands and protect workers during the crucial early days of COVID-19.

Frozen food sales rose significantly the final week of April, according to new research by the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), 210 Analytics, and IRI. The +50.3% increase was the highest since the height of mid-March stockpiling by consumers, when frozen food sales peaked at +94.4% compared to 2019 sales for the same time period. The +50.3% increase translates to $1.3 billion compared to $442 million in 2019.