WASHINGTON — Taylor Farms de  Mexico pledges to follow a Cyclospora sampling program for leafy greens and other products from its farms and processing facility after the Food & Drug Administration gave the company the green light to begin shipping product again to the United States.

On Aug. 12, the Salinas, CA-based company officially informed FDA it was voluntarily suspending production at the Taylor Farms de Mexico facility as of Aug. 9 and would not resume production and shipping of its leafy greens or salad mix without FDA’s approval.

Stemilt is helping retailers achieve Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Role Model status through its new “Tasty, Healthy, and Fun” More Matters promotion for apples.

Sunview Marketing International in Delano, CA, which has had an in-house breeding program for 35 years and has, over the years, grown and marketed several grape varieties coming out of that program, has introduced this year a new green seedless grape called Stella Bella that Scott Boyajian, director of sales, described as a mid-season replacement for Thompson seedless.

SPARTA, MI — Two new added-value packs are being offered this fall by Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc., which is based here.

Riveridge President Don Armock said Aug. 7 that brand names for the products were still undecided.

But one of the new items will be a clamshell containing two different apple varieties. For now, Riveridge is calling this a “twofer” pack.

J&J Produce, which specializes in growing cucumbers, Bell peppers, squash, tomatoes and eggplant, has recently hired several new employees in the areas of operations, sales and food safety. The additions will help the company as it continues to grow and expand to a national platform.

The 2013 fall produce season is under way and should be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce available for wholesale and retail purchase. To understand our fall season, one needs to take a look at the extraordinary weather that our farmers have had to deal with to produce our fall crops. This is the fourth season in a row that extraordinary weather has had a major effect on our season.