Fresh cranberries in recent years have been added to the sales offering of Mike Pirrone Produce, based in Capac, MI.

Joe Pirrone, a consultant to Mike Pirrone Produce, said: “We have been in the cranberry business for maybe three years.”  

About two years ago the DeBlouw family bought Mike Pirrone Produce from Joe Pirrone, whose father founded the Capac, MI-based operation in 1951.

When people think of Georgia, they think of peaches. And while the Peach State has not been the nation's top producer in many years volume-wise, when it comes to quality and name recognition, Georgia still earns its nickname. And this year's Georgia peach season looks like it may have been one for the record books.

Sun World International LLC has appointed two companies in Central American and South American agriculture as grape producer-marketer licensees.

Camposol S.A. of Peru and Grupo Alta of Sonora Mexico have been granted rights to produce Sun World grape varieties in their respective countries, to distribute and market their fruit and to use Sun World's brands in the marketplace, David Marguleas, executive vice president of the Bakersfield, CA-based company, said in a press release.

WASHINGTON -- "We're in uncharted waters and we don't see a way out of this," Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh Produce Association, said when he took the podium the morning of Oct. 1, referring to the first day of an historic government shutdown.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of its plans to sell its stores to the Yucaipa Cos.

Fresh & Easy declared assets between $100 million and $500 million, but debt of $500 million to $1 billion.

The filing "is simply the next step in the restructuring process to sell the business to The Yucaipa Companies and will have no impact on our customers shopping experience," said Brendan Wonnacott of Fresh & Easy. "It’s business as usual as we continue the transition to new ownership."

The chief executive officers for the United Fresh Produce Association and the Food Marketing Institute announced a plan to hold their conventions jointly in Chicago during the month of June for at least the next three years.

The two organizations have co-located their conventions before, and United Fresh President Tom Stenzel said the partnership will help United Fresh get past the typical buy-sell relationship that occurs at conventions and move toward a top-to-top connection, referring to the top level retail executives that typically attend the FMI show.