WASHINGTON -- With control of the Congress up for grabs on Election Day, advocates for immigration reform made a last-ditch effort to brief Republican staff on the urgent need to respond to increasing labor shortages and stepped up immigration raids this year during a lame-duck session.

WASHINGTON -- Health investigators are focusing on tomatoes delivered to restaurants as the source of the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 180 people in 21 states.

All evidence shows the outbreak is not ongoing, said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. FDA did not send out a warning to consumers or ask the industry to remove products because the perishable items would no longer be in the market and as such would be unable to pose a further threat.

SAN DIEGO -- In the aftermath of the E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in spinach that involved San Juan Bautista, CA-based Natural Selection Foods LLC, the company announced an upgraded food-safety initiative at the recent Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit.

Beginning immediately, the company will test seed in the field for several pathogens including E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella, said company spokesperson Samantha Cabaluna. The company will test all water sources, including tailwater. It will test deep wells at least once a month.

The Pride of New York program and Wal-Mart stores throughout New York state are celebrating the bounty of the harvest season with a weeklong showcase of produce grown in New York. From Nov. 7 to 13, 39 Wal-Mart stores across the state will highlight and promote New York-grown produce items with Pride of New York in-store signage.

A real produce man will soon lead the community known as the Salad Bowl of the World.

By a wide margin, Dennis Donohue, president of European Vegetable Specialties Farms Inc. in Salinas, CA, has been elected mayor of that city of 150,000 people and will take office early next month.

In unofficial figures, Mr. Donohue received 73 percent of the vote Tuesday, Nov. 7, while his opponent, Maria Giuriato, a Salinas councilwoman, received 27 percent.

Sun Belle Inc. unveiled its colorful new logo and packaging at the Produce Marketing Association annual convention held recently in San Diego. New packaging on display included completely new labels and boxes for the company's berry line of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and red currants, as well as new PLU and UPC stickers for its greenhouse-grown peppers and tomatoes.