The produce industry is hoping a new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulation announced Feb. 1 that puts limits on snack foods sold to children during the school day will not only promote healthy eating but drive up produce sales.

Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, USDA must establish nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools, besides the federally supported school meal programs. The Smart Snacks in School proposed rule unveiled Feb. 1 requires all foods sold in schools meet the following criteria:

The U.S. government and Mexican tomato growers reached a tentative agreement Feb. 2 that raises the minimum reference price for Mexican plum, cherry and other tomatoes that are sold in the United States.

"I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement on fresh tomato imports from Mexico that restores stability and confidence to the U.S. tomato market and meets the requirements of U.S. law," Francisco Sanchez, undersecretary for international trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, said in a statement.

Pura Vida Farms, a nation-wide pineapple importer and grower-shipper of melon products based in Scottsdale, AZ, announced Jan. 21 the hire of MIKE MARTORI as vice president of East Coast sales.

Johnston Farms, a fourth-generation family farming operation in Edison, CA, near Bakersfield, started shipping citrus in 1982. So the wintry weather of early January that brought five consecutive nights of sub-freezing temperatures was nothing new, nor was it a drastic setback — but it was a pain in the neck.

Albert’s Organics, headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA, is in the process of preparing for relocations of two of its U.S. facilities, according to Simcha Weinstein, director of marketing for the company.

Tight supplies on yellow squash, green beans, sweet corn and some other commodities from northern Mexico were pushing market prices to unusually high levels in late January and early February due to the lingering effects of a mid-January freeze in southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa, Mexico.