Westside Produce Joins The Movement to Build The World’s Safest Food Supply Chain Adopting The Free iTrade Traceability Campaign

[DUBLIN,CALIF.] Westside Produce is the latest customer to pick up the food safetymantle and join iTrade’s iTracefreshprogram. As the leading global provider of supply chain software for the foodand beverage industry, iTrade is pioneering efforts to build the world’s safestand most comprehensive global food supply chain. To underline its commitment toguaranteeing the safety of our food, it has removed all barriers to adoption,offering the iTracefresh traceabilitysuite to any supplier, or indeed any buyer’s, entire supplier portfolio for thefirst year – free of charge. 

“As a family business, ensuring thatour customers have confidence in the safety of our food is incredibly importantto us. As we continue to grow our company, iTrade’s traceability offer willalso help us appeal to and comply with new buyer requirements quickly andeasily. We are excited to join the world’s safest food supply chain and usetraceability as a strategic differentiator,” comments S. Garrett Patricio, COOat Westside Produce.

Inaddition to protecting a supplier’s brands during recalls and enabling criticaldownstream supply chain visibility, iTrade’s traceability solutions help growits customers’ businesses. Data from a yearlong pilot with a majorindustry buyer showed that suppliers adopting iTrade traceability increasedtheir trading volumes by an average of 55 percent in just 12 months.Additionally, a sample of just four new growers added a combined $10 million inrevenue over the same period. 

“The world would be a better place if everyone knew wheretheir food came from,” says Rhonda Bassett-Spiers, CEO of iTradeNetwork.“Consumers are choosing brands that can ensure the safety of their food and weare excited to have Westside Produce join us in creating the world’s safestfood supply chain.”

Inthe late 1940’s, Jess Telles, Jr. and his brother Frank began farming inCalifornia and Arizona. The brothers formed Telles Ranch Incorporated (TRI) in1953 and within a decade they were farming over fifty-thousand acres of cotton,melons, tomatoes, lettuce, barley and wheat. By the late 1960's, TRI had risento prominence as one of the world’s largest growers and shippers of cantaloupesand honeydews. In the early 1990’s, TRI Produce transitioned from shed packingto field packing and formed Westside Produce. The new entity operated as anindependent handler of the finest quality cantaloupe and honeydew melons in theCentral San Joaquin Valley of California. By the late 1990’s and early 2000’s,Westside Produce represented a diversified grower community and establisheditself as an industry leader in both service and quality. Over time, the foodsafety program was overhauled, enhanced traceability systems were integratedinto receiving, inventorying and shipping, new harvesting equipment wasdeployed, and a 5-acre, 1.2MW solar project was built to achieve energyindependence. Youthful exuberance, innovative technology, and transparency havecontributed to the success of Westside Produce. Looking ahead, we will continueto innovate, improve our product offerings and harvesting techniques, andremain transparent to our growers, suppliers and consumers.

Companies interested in adopting iTrade’siTracefresh traceability suite and enjoying the first year, free of charge,should visit https://www.itradenetwork.com/itracefresh/item/. Thepromotional package includes two of iTrade’s products: its Produce TraceabilityInitiative (PTI) case labeling solution, and its Palletized Advanced ShipNotice (ASN) solution, Transit. Qualifying companies may alsoreceive the free field kit hardware package that includes a printer, two mobiledevices, and 10,000 labels to help them get started on iTracefresh.