Howard Valentine

"The purpose of a trade organization is to get the various segments of an industry together," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology at the American Peanut Council.
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"This is the first time a USDA-graded raw agricultural product has moved through this kind of inventory system," continued Valentine.
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According to Valentine, the American Peanut Shellers Association and the American Peanut Council hope that after the pilot program is completed the bar code system will become the standard and will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.Already other tests are beginning in Virginia and Texas.

"The purpose of a trade organization is to get the various segments of an industry together," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology at the American Peanut Council."This a perfect example".The two associations helped them discuss issues in order to create, test and implement a new way of managing our product."

The committee developed standards and asked Georgia Federal State to pilot a bar code labeling approach that would not only serve the needs of the states and the federal government but also the food manufacturing industry, enabling them to use the bar codes to quickly identify, receive and inventory peanuts as they arrive at their processing plants.The pilot program has been rolled out to the four largest shelling plants in the state.The new system, designed by Stratix Corporation of Atlanta, Ga., integrates Label Matrix bar code labeling software from StrandWare and four Zebra bar code printers powered by a dedicated personal computer that prints bar coded tags on self-adhesive labels and perforated card stock.
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"This is the first time a USDA-graded raw agricultural product has moved through this kind of inventory system," continued Valentine."There's a little more involved with more quality parameters since peanuts are directly edible products."

Georgia Federal State continues to produce the labels in batches in response to order requests from shellers, but now each label is unique with specific information that enables processors to trace a product history back to the source and to more easily integrate product handling with their internal systems.In addition to the state and crop year, each 4" X 9" color-coded bar code label now includes a shelling company identifier provided by the Uniform Code Council (UCC), an item number describing the the U.S. Grade, the APSA.Grade, kind of container, the gross and net weight and a sequential serial number that resets with each new lot.A second "license plate" bar code on each label has the UCC and a non-resetting sequential number that ties it back to the first bar code.
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According to Valentine, the American Peanut Shellers Association and the American Peanut Council hope that after the pilot program is completed the bar code system will become the standard and will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.Already other tests are beginning in Virginia and Texas.There is also the potential in the near future to use the bar coding system as part of an electronic data interchange (EDI) system that will enable shellers and manufacturers to establish automatic ordering, invoicing and receiving systems.

As for Georgia Federal State, they are pleased with the new system and hope to roll it out to all of the houses and plan to double their installation by adding a second computer and four more printers.The bar coding project also opens the opportunity to transmit data from the shelling plants directly to Georgia Federal State and its counterparts in other states for record keeping purposes.Georgia Federal State is also considering using bar codes to help them manage their maintenance and spare parts inventory for their own equipment.

Then an old acquaintance, Howard Valentine with the American Peanut Council, came out, saw the despondent look on my face and surmised that I needed assistance.He suggested that we wait until he dropped his riders off and then he'd come back for us.

Good man, Howard.I got his cell number in the unlikely event that the shuttle showed up while he was gone.Hah.

We waited a bit more and Tyron Spearman, publisher of peanut market news out of Tifton, Georgia, who I've known since I started working with Farm Press back more years than either of us likes to admit, came out, surmised the same thing as Howard and suggested that he and his crew had enough vehicles to get all seven of us back to the hotel.

We divvied ourselves up, two to one car, three to another and two more with yet another vehicle.I called Howard, by the way, and saved him from making a useless trip back to the restaurant.

"This is the first time a USDA-graded raw agricultural product has moved through this kind of inventory system," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology for the American Peanut Council.
...
According to Valentine, the APSA and APC hope that the bar code system will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.

Peanut farmers and food processors have given $5.6 million over the past decade to eight scientists, mainly for peanut-allergy work, says Howard Valentine, of the American Peanut Council.

"This is the first time a USDA-graded raw agricultural product has moved through this kind of inventory system," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology for the American Peanut Council."There's a little more involved with more quality parameters since peanuts are directly edible products."

As a peanut inspector, Georgia Federal State typically deploys inspectors to shelling plants to monitor quality and oversee the labeling of peanuts.Georgia Federal State prints the tags on a heavy colored paper stock, which are then attached to burlap bags, large "tote" sacks and seal boxes.Georgia Federal State uses an offset printing press to produce labels in large batches for each shelling plant.A typical printing order is 40 lots of 415 tags (over 16,000 tags).
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According to Valentine, the APSA and APC hope that the bar code system will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.

Strandware Inc., 1529 Continental Drive, Eau Claire, WI 54701.800-552-2331.Product 338

GAO report favors food irradiation A General Accounting Office report prepared at the request of the U.S. House Committee on Commerce concludes the benefits of food irradiation outweigh any risks, but industry insiders question if it is enough to motivate retailers to step up marketing of irradiated beef, poultry and other products.

The report points out "food safety experts believe that irradiation can be an effective tool in helping to control foodborne pathogens and should be incorporated as part of a comprehensive program to enhance food safety."It estimates 95 million pounds of spices, herbs and dry vegetable seasonings are currently being irradiated annually, along with 1.5 million pounds of fruit and vegetables and 500,000 pounds of poultry.Despite irradiation's effectiveness in reducing foodborne illnesses that cause up to $37.1 billion in economic costs, retailers remain reluctant to market irradiated foods, the report notes.

"The purpose of a trade organization is to get the various segments of an industry together," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology at the American Peanut Council.
...
According to Valentine, the American Peanut Shellers Association and the American Peanut Council hope that after the pilot program is completed the bar code system will become the standard and will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.Already other tests are beginning in Virginia and Texas.

"The purpose of a trade organization is to get the various segments of an industry together," commented Howard Valentine, director of research and technology at the American Peanut Council."This is a perfect example".The two associations helped them discuss issues in order to create, test and implement a new way of managing our product."

The committee developed standards and asked Georgia Federal State to pilot a bar code labeling approach that would not only serve the needs of the states and the federal government but also the food manufacturing industry, enabling them to use the bar codes to quickly identify, receive and inventory peanuts as they arrive at their processing plants.The pilot program has been rolled out to the four largest shelling plants in the state.The new system, designed by Stratix Corporation of Atlanta, Ga., integrates Label Matrix bar code labeling software from StrandWare and four Zebra bar code printers powered by a dedicated personal computer that prints bar coded tags on self-adhesive labels and perforated card stock.
...
According to Valentine, the American Peanut Shellers Association and the American Peanut Council hope that after the pilot program is completed the bar code system will become the standard and will be adopted by the other peanut producing states.Already other tests are beginning in Virginia and Texas.There is also the potential in the near future to use the bar coding system as part of an electronic data interchange (EDI) system that will enable shellers and manufacturers to establish automatic ordering, invoicing and receiving systems.

As for Georgia Federal State, they are pleased with the new system and hope to roll it out to all of the houses and plan to double their installation by adding a second computer and four more printers.The bar coding project also opens the opportunity to transmit data from the shelling plants directly to Georgia Federal State and its counterparts in other states for record keeping purposes.Georgia Federal State is also considering using bar codes to help them manage their maintenance and spare parts inventory for their own equipment.

Member Contacts: Howard Valentine, Director, Research & Technology American …