IFPA names Director of Supply Chain

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2026 – The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) BB #:378962 is deepening its focus on the future of the fresh produce supply chain, with Director of Supply Chain Erik Larsen leading the charge on the priorities that matter most to members: traceability, data sharing, and the modernization of industry standards.

Larsen’s mandate is straightforward; position IFPA and its members at the forefront of a supply chain that is faster, more transparent, and more resilient. Drawing on a background rooted in information technology and operations, Larsen brings a data-first lens to challenges that have long defined the industry.

“The supply chain of the future starts with data,” said Larsen. “Being able to share data between trading partners throughout the supply chain, building trust, and improving visibility—those are the things we really need to work on, along with developing standards. The real value this brings to our membership is increased consumer trust, greater profitability through reduced waste, and a positive impact on sustainability.”

Turning FSMA 204 into an Industry Opportunity
Central to Larsen’s work is helping members navigate FSMA 204, the FDA’s food traceability rule and the latest iteration of a modernization effort that traces back to the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and the Produce Traceability Initiative. While enforcement has been extended to January 2028, Larsen is clear that the urgency has not diminished.

“Even though the enforcement date has been pushed back, the leading retailers have been busy planning for compliance, recognizing that this is a significant operational challenge that needs to be carefully implemented without significantly affecting operations, ” Larsen explained. “Our supply community is becoming more aware of this and now realizing the urgency around it.”

Larsen frames the digitization at the heart of FSMA 204 as a competitive advantage rather than a compliance burden. Where investigations today can take the FDA roughly 35 days, slowed by paperwork and manual records, full digitization could shrink that to as few as five days, enabling faster response and, critically, narrower recall scopes.

The Business Case for Traceability
For Larsen, traceability is ultimately a business story, not just a food-safety one. “From a business standpoint, it’s about reducing the scope of a recall,” he said. “If you have effective traceability in place, you can say confidently, ‘we only need to recall this amount of produce’—not what we’re doing today. That is going to be a huge return on investment for the industry.”

He points to solutions such as the Warehouse Management System lot probability model as pragmatic stepping stones toward 100% accurate traceability: imperfect, but a meaningful move in the right direction for an industry operating on notoriously thin margins.

A Broader Vision
Larsen sees traceability, industry collaboration, data standards, and supply-chain visibility as connective tissue across IFPA’s work, intersecting with sustainability, packaging, government relations, food safety, and education. A particular priority is ensuring that mid-to-small growers can continue to trade profitably as new technology and policy reshape the industry.

“This is about aligning closely with our member expectations,” Larsen said. “New technologies and policy are moving quickly, and it’s important that we’re moving forward with them, together.”

IFPA will continue to spotlight Larsen’s work as part of a broader content strategy designed to elevate member expertise and reassert the association’s leadership across the produce and floral supply chain.

About the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) is the largest and most diverse international association serving the entire fresh produce and floral supply chain and the only to seamlessly integrate world-facing advocacy and industry-facing support. We exist to bring the industry together to create a vibrant future for all. We grow our members’ prosperity by conducting advocacy, connecting people and ideas; and offering guidance that allows us all to take action with purpose and confidence. IFPA represents member companies from small family businesses to the largest international corporations throughout the global fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain, including growers, shippers, fresh-cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations.

Contact: Ashley Sempowski, media@freshproduce.com, (202) 303-3406