VANCOUVER, BC -- Smart Technology/LLS Canada thinks it may have built a better clamshell, and its own early tests suggest it might be on to something.

Oliver, BC-based Smart Technology rolled out the clamshell at the 81st annual Canadian Produce Marketing Association's convention and exposition, held here March 22-25.

When it comes to the produce industry, Robert Sanders really knows the ropes.

The 29-year-old salesman and buyer with Ben B. Schwartz & Sons, a wholesaler on the Detroit Union Produce Terminal, has been working in the trade since he was a teenager and has been exposed to the business since he was a preschooler hanging out - and helping out - in his uncle's fruit market.

SALINAS, CA -- Kim Greer, president and chief executive officer of the National Steinbeck Center, died March 28 at his home in Monterey. He was 49.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced March 23 that it was delaying the decision on import duties for Chinese garlic for the 2006-07 season for at least one month as it was not "practicable" to complete the analysis in the time initially allotted.

Philadelphia-area importers of Chilean apples said that while the Chilean deal is behind schedule, the storage apple deal of Washington state is also running behind. So it is expected that the Chilean apple imports will begin to increase as Washington cold storages clean up.

WASHINGTON -- The produce industry welcomed news that a Senate committee approved a guest worker program for agricultural workers last week, but the battle is far from over.

Racing against the clock, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a comprehensive guest worker bill during a day- long session that included an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) designed to maintain an agricultural workforce. By an 11-5 vote, the Feinstein amendment was attached to a bill destined for the Senate floor in the coming days.