WASHINGTON -- It is an active and energetic time here in the nation's capital. Bills of enormous consequence for our industry - and our country - are stacking up on the House and Senate floors, and the executive branch unveils new initiatives with regularity.

While ideology and policy goals shape one's particular view of these events, no matter where you stand, the changes may be profound. The produce industry's level of engagement will determine its ability to influence the course of that change -- and may even in the end create new business opportunities.

The Produce Marketing Association has named Nancy Ferguson its new public relations manager.

Ms. Ferguson will be responsible for providing media and other public relations support for PMA events, including the Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition Oct. 2-5 in Anaheim, CA, as well as for association products, services, departments and staff experts.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board has planted the seeds for U.S. watermelons to be sold by Japanese retailers.

The Chilean Avocado Importers Association considers its supermarket retail partnerships the cornerstone of its marketing efforts to successfully increase U.S.-based consumer demand and consumption of Hass avocados from Chile.

As a result, the association has created a national platform to reach consumers in a way that will be customized for the market area of each supermarket retail partner.

After a voluntary recall this past spring of roasted pistachios from its 2008 crop due to concerns about Salmonella contamination, Setton Pistachios of Terra Bella Inc. has unveiled a new food-safety program that company officials believe is one of the more advanced in the industry.

"We undertook a voluntary recall in the spring, and [our] response was an absolute commitment to the science behind food safety," Lee Cohen, the Terra Bella, CA-based firm's general manager, told The Produce News Sept. 9.

WASHINGTON -- Health and nutrition advocates, along with moms and dads, want more fresh fruits and vegetables in the diets of school children, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has established a program to support that trend.

In March, USDA introduced a pilot program to school districts in five states -- California, Michigan, North Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania -- that provided students with fresh-cut apple slices. Apples were processed and packaged into single-serve, two-ounce bags, similar to those found in children's meals at major fast-food restaurants.