Fruit & Vegetable Manufacturers NAICS 3114

Sep 23, 2025 - Aging Plant Infrastructure

• Aging food processing infrastructure, some dating back more than half a century, poses risks for food manufacturers, especially producers of perishable products that must move swiftly through the system to preserve freshness and quality, Food Processing (FP) reports. Older equipment is more likely to break down, interrupting production and potentially leading to product loss and unexpected replacement costs. FP notes that while processing plants have scaled up production and adopted more advanced technologies, underlying systems have struggled to keep up, resulting in a growing mismatch between modern operational demands and aging physical assets. Moreover, many aging plants may not be equipped to handle growing demand and regulatory scrutiny due to lack of capital investment over the years. Because environmental, safety, and building codes have evolved since many food processing plants were built, replacement costs can be substantial, according to FP.
• Were the Trump administration to succeed in deporting millions of people living in the US illegally there would be fewer available workers to pick fruits and vegetables and prepare the food for shipment and distribution, Food Manufacturing (FM) reports. Moreover, domestic production of food could decline, leading to supply shortages, higher costs, and more imports for food manufacturers and consumers. Approximately half of US farmworkers are in the country without legal authorization, according to the USDA. FM notes that some immigrant farmworkers are skilled supervisors who make decisions about planting and harvesting, while others know how to use and maintain tractors, loaders, diggers, rakers, fertilizer sprayers, irrigation systems, and other machines crucial to farm operations. Were they suddenly removed from the US, consumers would see an increase in food costs at grocery stores and restaurants.

• A new study has found widespread human exposure to thousands of chemicals used in food packaging, Food Manufacturing reports. The study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, identified over 3,600 chemicals used in food packaging and other food contact chemicals (FCCs) that have been found in human urine, blood, and breast milk and reveals significant gaps in biomonitoring and toxicity data. “Our research establishes a link between food contact chemicals, exposure, and human health,” said Dr. Birgit Geueke, adding, “It also highlights those chemicals that have been overlooked in biomonitoring studies so far.” The researchers were surprised by the high number of FCCs, for which some evidence of human exposure exists, and said their study shows there needs to be more research about the toxicity of and exposure to many chemicals and regulations around their use in food packaging.
• Producer prices for fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturers rose 0.3% in August compared to a year ago, after rising 0.8% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. After rising steeply from mid-2021 to mid-2023, wholesale price growth for fruit and vegetable manufacturers has stalled amid cooling food price inflation. Employment by the industry grew 3.6% year over year in July, while the average wage at fruit and vegetable manufacturers fell 1.5% over the same period to $22.27 per hour, down $1.20 from its record high in January, BLS data show.