Only 12.3% of US consumers surveyed ate at least the recommended daily servings of fruits in 2019, and just 10% consumed the suggested amount of vegetables, according to a CDC report. The report, which broke down the data by factors including age, income level and state, found that cost, access and availability of fresh produce were barriers.

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Jamie and Jilea Hemmings have opened the first Black-owned contactless grocery store in the Atlanta area. At Nourish + Bloom Market, in Fayetteville, Ga., shoppers scan items on the store's app as they walk through the store and are automatically charged for the groceries and prepared foods as they leave.

Lidl has issued a nine-state recall on 12-ounce packages of frozen spinach with a best by date of Sept. 23, 2023, on concerns about potential listeria contamination. No illness have been reported in connection with the product.

Researchers in Norway are advocating for a new approach to combating parasitological risks after discovering Cyclospora, Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium in berries. Raspberries, strawberries and blueberries were the foods studied.

Mobile apps like Too Good to Go and Feedback offer Canadian consumers the ability to buy quality food at lower prices as a way to both help families save and keep more food out of landfills. The apps partner with grocers, restaurants and bakeries to match consumers with deals on food that's nearing its sell by date.

A mandate that took effect Jan. 22 requires all truck drivers entering the US from Canada and Mexico be vaccinated for COVID-19, a rule experts say could create further supply chain challenges and produce shortages for US retailers. Mexico supplied 77% of US fresh vegetable imports in 2020, and the rule could also affect temporary farm laborers who cross the border from Mexico daily to work in California and Arizona.

Vermont's specialty crop growers can now apply for grants under a $500,000 program administered by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. The program is designed to grow specialty crop production in the state and funding will be available in a range of areas including marketing, research and product development.

Ideation is better than rehashing old ideas, but your new plans had better "solve new problems for your customers," writes Mike Shipulski. Old ideas and position-defending efforts also leave you vulnerable to upstarts that "create whole new technologies from scratch (new ideas on a grand scale) and pull the rug out from under you," Shipulski writes.

Your emotions should ideally match the situation, but how should you communicate when there's a mismatch? "It turned out that over the course of many interactions, 'medium richness' communication, such as telephone or audio, is most likely to make inauthentically communicated emotion seem the most authentic," writes University of Texas at Austin professor Andrew Brodsky, who presents his research findings.

Amy Sung is the director of content for food and travel at SmartBrief, where she manages both editorial content and content marketing spanning the foodservice, food retail and consumer packaged goods industries, as well as the travel and hospitality industries. If you like Produce SmartBrief, hate Produce SmartBrief or want to submit a story, shoot me an email.