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USAPEEC, with support from the USB and in coordination with Potatoes USA, conducted Food Safety and Cold Chain Seminar for Waltermart Supermarket Inc., and Supervalie Inc. / SM Supermarkets in April 2026. The seminars engaged a total of 80 participants from purchasing, logistics, warehouse, retail, and quality assurance, bringing together both decision-makers and operational teams.
The sessions were timely as both retailers continue to expand their frozen and imported meat assortments, including poultry. Waltermart has 46 stores while SM Markets, including SM Supermarket and Savemore, operates more than 289 stores nationwide, indicating significantly larger poultry handling volumes and strong market potential for imported and U.S. poultry products.
Led by Certified ServSafe Instructor Rommel Gerodias, the seminars provided practical training on food safety, cold chain management, and proper product handling from receiving to retail display. The activity strengthened participants’ technical capability and confidence in handling U.S. poultry and reinforced its reliability for retail distribution.
As a result, both retailers expressed interest in further improving their cold chain systems and expanding imported poultry offerings. These outcomes signal strong potential for increased procurement, sustained retail demand, and expanded opportunities for U.S. poultry products in the Philippine supermarket sector.