Seald Sweet LLC recently announced partnership deals in Florida and California that strengthen the Vero Beach, FL- based company's position as a year-round supplier of high- quality citrus.

In Florida, Seald Sweet concluded a joint venture acquisition and operating agreement with SunBrite Citrus Inc. in Fort Pierce, FL, which is one of its grower-shipper members. Under the agreement, reached Oct. 19, Seald Sweet becomes a 50 percent owner of a newly formed company SunBrite Holdings LLC, with the Schirard family retaining the other half of the company.

Kelly O'Grady has a sales pitch for Earthbound Farm that is simple and sincere: Organic produce is good for consumers and good for the environment.

It's really more of a philosophy for the 25-year-old sales associate, who has worked for the organic grower-shipper in San Juan Bautista, CA, for the past two years.

"I'm helping bring the benefits of organic foods to consumers. I guess overall that's the most rewarding aspect of my job," she said. "Working in the organic industry is being socially and environmentally responsible."

ATLANTA -- "Mex Best" is a brand that Mexican producers and their government use to promote Mexican products around the world. Enrique Lobo, minister of the agricultural office of the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, DC, said that different Mexican categories, including produce, fisheries, livestock and groceries, are promoted at the single top relevant trade fair in major markets around the world.

ATLANTA - The future of traditional produce wholesalers is limited, and perhaps even dim, according to some in the industry. But a panel of three aggressive and progressive wholesalers at the Produce Marketing Association convention, here, made a strong case for the viability of wholesale fruit and vegetable suppliers.

Reggie Brown, manager of the Florida Tomato Committee in Maitland, FL, said that the response from the retail and foodservice industries to Florida tomato grower's plea to relax standards on tomatoes has already received some positive response.

The committee, backed by those who farm, pack, distribute and market tomatoes from Florida, made the plea just prior to the recent PMA Fresh Summit in Atlanta as a result of the damage done to tomato crops by Hurricane Wilma in late October.

On Nov. 4 in the nation's capital, a group of academics got together and discussed whether Wal-Mart has a positive or negative impact on America and the local economies of the towns it enters.

That has been a much-debated topic in city council chambers and county supervisor offices throughout the country. What made this conference unique is that Wal-Mart itself sponsored it and set it up to be as unbiased as possible.