CHICAGO — At the 2018 National Restaurant Association Show May 19-22, fresh fruit and vegetable specialist Del Monte Fresh Produce highlighted many of the products it sells in grocery deli departments.

With labor issues increasingly a concern in grocery delis, many are turning to companies like Coral Gables, Florida-based Del Monte to help make their jobs easier, Melissa Athanasopulos, the company’s senior sales director for fresh-cut, said at the show.

“I feel like we’re seeing a lot more outsourcing of things that are typically done at the back of the house,” she said.

Items that fit that description include Del Monte’s pico de gallo and guacamole and its Fresh Farms-branded single-cut Better Burger Leaf, which instore departments can use as an ingredient in their store-made sandwiches.

“A lot of our customers are concerned with food safety, and all of our facilities are GAP-certified” and up to speed on other food safety certifications, Athanasopulos said.

Other Del Monte “crossover” items highlighted at NRA ’18 included:

• Mann’s brand Nourish Bowls;
• Del Monte-brand Fiesta Salad with White Chicken;
• Del Monte-brand veggie noodles (Butternut, Zucchini and Mixed Noodles);
• Mann’s brand Kohlrabi Linguine; and
• Del Monte brand pineapple chunks.