WASHINGTON -- University of Georgia researcher Mike Doyle said that his research is pointing to a new possible culprit in the contamination of fresh- cut produce: the coring knives used to cut and core lettuce in the fields during harvesting.

As co-president of the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association Inc. Matt D'Arrigo has worked for a revitalized Hunts Point Terminal Market since 2000. In the process, he has seen more ups and downs than a West Virginia country road.

At this time, "all of our options are open to prepare for the future and compete as effectively as we can. One obvious possibility is creating a satellite market in New Jersey. There is quiet contact with New Jersey, which is an interested party in job development and industrial development."

The United Farm Workers union filed a complaint March 13 with the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of 16 employees laid off by Tanimura & Antle.

The complaint alleges that Spreckels, CA-based T&A did not follow the rules when hiring temporary guest workers under the federal H-2A program. According to Armando Elenes, UFW's external organizing director, the laid- off workers -- all from the Tres Picos area near Huron, CA -- claim that at the same time T&A laid them off, the company was hiring workers under the H-2A program.

Santa Maria, CA-based Bonipak Produce Co. has hired Joe Leonard as chief executive officer.

Mr. Leonard officially began in his new position March 1, though he has been a consultant to Bonipak since near the end of 2007, according to Mitch Ardantz, Bonipak's vice president of sales and marketing.

On the one hand, proponents of reusable plastic containers for the produce industry have to be happy with the close to 50 percent growth over the past several years. On the other hand, RPCs still only account for 7-8 percent of the market, which is difficult to fathom if you believe the advantages touted by those same proponents.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued an import alert March 22 regarding entry of cantaloupe from Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer, because, based on current information, fruit from this company appears to be associated with a Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada.

The import alert advises FDA field offices that all cantaloupes shipped to the United States by this company are to be detained.