HealthPro Brands Inc. has started selling Fit, its fruit and vegetable wash, in the United Kingdom, where the company hopes its launch of sales of natural products to health-conscious consumers pays off.

In May, England became the first country to begin selling Fit at Whole Foods Market, the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods.

"We see it as a $100 million market in Europe," said HealthPro Brands President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Wichmann. "We think the latest launch will kick start the business there."

There is an old hit song by Johnny Mercer, performed by Bing Crosby in the 1944 movie "Here Come the Waves," familiar for the lyric, "You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative ..."

That is good advice in many aspects of life, and the sequence of those two imperatives is significant, particularly when applied to a healthful diet. Too often, people focus on eliminating the negatives and never even get around to accentuating the positive.

Once grown primarily for export, white-flesh California peaches and nectarines have found a solid niche in the domestic market. They now represent roughly 25 percent of the state's peach and nectarine volume, and while they are still in demand in the Asian markets, growers say that majority of the white-flesh crop is now sold in the United States. That number is expected to grow as more and more consumers discover the white-flesh varieties, which are generally characterized not only by their snowy-white interior color but by high sugar levels and low acid levels.

Jim Cranney, vice president of the Vienna, VA-based U.S. Apple Association, has resigned from his position at the association and will become president of the California Citrus Quality Council, according to a source familiar with the situation who wished to remain anonymous.

Mr. Cranney, who has worked at USApple for the past 15 years, will depart the association on June 20. He was unavailable for comment as of this publication's deadline.

Salinas, CA-based Tanimura & Antle announced May 23 that Central Sales Manager John Killeen and Western Sales Manager Steve Koran both will be leaving the company to pursue other interests outside the Salinas area.

J.R. (Jack) Simplot, a pioneer of the Idaho potato industry, founder of the J.R. Simplot Co. and one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, died of natural causes May 25 at his home in Boise, ID. He was 99.

"Former [Idaho] Gov. Phil Batt, who knew [Mr.] Simplot well, said he was among the most important figures in the state's history," stated an obituary in the Idaho Statesman. The article quoted Mr. Batt as saying, "I think [Mr. Simplot] did more to build Idaho than any other one person."