WASHINGTON -- In the wake of the Salmonella saintpaul outbreak, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration is holding two public meetings this fall to gather information on ways to enhance traceability systems for fresh produce.

The daylong meetings are planned for Oct. 16 at FDA's College Park, MD, office and for Nov. 13 at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, CA.

It is said that good things come in threes, and that is certainly the case at Railex LLC.

With diesel fuel prices at an all-time high and with no relief in sight, the firm, a division of Riverhead, NY-based ADS Management LLC, is putting the finishing touches on its third state-of-the-art "freight-forward" distribution terminal in Delano, CA.

Paul Esposito, Railex's senior vice president of sales and logistics, told The Produce News Sept. 22 that its first Delano train is scheduled to depart Oct. 2 for its Rotterdam, NY, terminal.

Even in poor economic conditions, people have to eat. But in our society, they have a great bit of discretion concerning how they spend their food dollars, and there is some evidence that supermarkets are benefiting during these difficult times.

Michigan authorities quickly named prepackaged lettuce sold by Detroit wholesaler Aunt Mid's Produce Co. as the likely cause of 30 illnesses there, but company President Dominic Riggio says not so fast.

The Michigan Department of Community Health issued a Sept. 26 statement that identified industrial-sized packages of Iceberg lettuce as the most likely cause of 30 cases of E. coli poisoning around the state. Six other people in Illinois found to be suffering from the same E. coli fingerprint have been linked to the same outbreak.

According to Ken Severn, interim president of the Washington Apple Commission, the organization will spend $6.5 million in 25 countries this year to increase the value of the state's apples. As a result, several staff changes have been made as the program is implemented.

Todd Fryhover, a longtime Wenatchee, WA-area marketer, is now export operations director and is responsible for all day-to-day promotion in the markets as well as communication with the export sales desks.

Zespri Group Ltd. Chairman Craig Greenlees has announced his decision to step down after six years in the role, and the board of directors subsequently elected John Loughlin, independent director of six years and former Richmond Ltd. chief executive officer, as his replacement. Peter McBride will be deputy chairman after having served for six years as a director.