This webinar is focused on advances in post-harvest handling and storage technologies designed to preserve shelf life within the supply chain.
Post-harvest diseases can limit the shelf life of fresh blueberries, and gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is one of the most common. Please join us for an important discussion about recent advances in post-harvest technology available to fresh blueberry handlers.
Webinar Speakers
Alicia Adler
USHBC Vice President of Global Business Development
Alicia Adler serves as vice president of global business development at the USHBC and NABC, directing global market development programs in North and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia) on behalf of the blueberry industry. Adler will discuss recent trends and developments in the global blueberry market and prospects for U.S. blueberries in Asia.
Randy Beaudry, Ph.D.
Michigan State University
Dr. Randy Beaudry is a postharvest physiologist working at Michigan State University (50% research, 50% extension) in the Department of Horticulture. Dr. Beaudry's activities focus on both practical and fundamental aspects of preserving the postharvest quality of fruits and vegetables. He will share his perspective on how post-harvest handling of blueberries has evolved, where it's headed in terms of new technologies and what's on the horizon, including the use of sulfur dioxide and modified atmosphere packaging.
Deon Hugo
Business Development Manager for the U.S. and Canada | Tessara
Based in Calgary, Deon is Tessara’s first Business Development Manager for the US and Canada. He joined Tessara as Head of Finance upon his return to South Africa in 2013. Prior to joining Tessara he served most of his accounting career in London with Bibendum Wine and subsidiaries, suppliers of wine to the major UK retailers. He also holds a BSc (Forestry Science) degree from the University of Stellenbosch.
Alwyn van Jaarsveld
Head of Marketing and Sales | Tessara
Alwyn van Jaarsveld is the Head of Marketing and Sales at Tessara. He holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural Science and has wide-ranging experience in fruit exports, post-harvest handling and treatment of fresh crops, as well as integrated pest management (IPM). He has developed two international post-harvest packaging patents, and will discuss the effect of sulfur dioxide pads on product life extension.
Chris Kampsen
Enterprise Account Executive | Veritiv Corporation
Chris Kampsen is a custom packaging representative for Veritiv Corporation, based in Clovis, California. Chris was involved in the emergency approval of sulfur dioxide pads in California and Washington in 2020, and will share feedback from trial work done during the 2020 season in California, Washington and British Columbia.