WASHINGTON — Consumers who reach for citrus may see codes etched directly on the fruit in the near future as the Food & Drug Administration approved for the first time the use of the new technology.

Sunkist Growers Inc. was one of the companies that petitioned the FDA last year to use the new technology, a carbon dioxide laser, for etching information on the skin of fresh, intact citrus fruit.

BrightFarms Inc. and The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. announced an exclusive partnership June 19 to deliver the freshest local produce to A&P's family of stores.

A&P has signed the grocery industry's third long-term produce purchase agreement, becoming the only retailer of BrightFarms' Brooklyn-grown produce from the world's largest rooftop farm.

FRESNO, CA — The California table grape industry logged its second-highest export volume in 2011, according to Susan Day, vice president of international marketing for the California Table Grape Commission, here. The 2012 crop could set new records for harvest and export volume.

In 2011, many of the industry’s top export markets imported their largest volume ever of California grapes, she said.

“Total exports last year, including Canada, were 344,997 metric tons,” second only to the export volume in 2005, she said.

With the approach of the summer season, Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce in San Diego will be continuing “the roll-out and development of our heirloom tomato program,” according to Mark Munger, vice president of marketing.

In addition, the company’s organic program continues to expand. As part of that, the company will be adding a new organic item this summer: organic beefsteak tomatoes.

Those two changes to the company’s programs are “a couple of fun things going on in the summer season” this year, he said.

As a broker, Bernardi & Associates has one goal in mind: providing its customers with the best tomatoes possible day in and day out, 365 days a year.

This time of year, that means sourcing largely from the Baja Peninsula in western Mexico. Joe Bernardi, who has been president of the family-run operation for more than two decades, said that adding value for its customers is the key to the company’s success. “Things are status quo around here,” he said. “We’re just supplying our customers 52 weeks a year.”

Arroyo Grande, CA-based Talley Farms Inc. welcomed BRENNAN HARRELL to its sales team on June 4.