WASHINGTON -- Opponents of country-of-origin labeling got their feet in the door May 16 when a congressional subcommittee agreed to delay implementing the law for meat products until 2007.

Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX), chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, added language to a U.S. Department of Agriculture spending bill that would delay the controversial labeling program for meat products until September 2007.

WASHINGTON -- Florida Department of Health officials are investigating the source of a Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened more than 200 people across 31 counties.

"We continue investigating the source of illness," said Lindsay Hodges, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health. The state has detected an increased number of reported Cyclospora cases -- 236 confirmed cases across 31 counties -- in recent weeks.

As of Sept. 16, all wood packaging materials, including pallets, crates and boxes, must be treated for pests before entering or leaving the United States.

The required heat or fumigation treatment is expected to add about $1 to the cost of a pallet, and there is some question as to whether the produce industry will be ready to implement this new regulation handed down by the USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service.

Family Tree Farms in Reedley, CA, announced May 17 the addition of Dovey Plain to the company's marketing department. Ms. Plain, who joins Don Goforth and Melissa Yerxa in the Family Tree Farms marketing department, has 18 years of experience in the stone fruit industry and was most recently domestic promotions manager at the California Tree Fruit Agreement.

Jim Hunt Sr., owner of the New York produce distribution house D.M. Rothman Co. Inc., died May 9 at age 58. His son, James Hunt Jr., who works in the family business, said that his father had a stroke May 7 and died two days later. The death "was not an absolute surprise," said the son, because his father had suffered a slight stroke in 1999.

Michael Browne, formerly president and CEO of Fresh Directions International in Ventura, CA, has been named vice president of fresh operations at Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, CA. He replaces Al Thorne, who is retiring.

Mr. Browne was a founding partner of Fresh Directions, which was formed in 1997, and he remained the company's top executive until his departure earlier this year. Previously he had been president and CEO of Index Fresh, an avocado packing, importing and marketing company in Bloomington, CA.