In 1962, the Herrán and Guerra families opened their first grocery store in Miami, offering familiar fare to the ever-increasing influx of Hispanics into south Florida. By the time the company entered the Orlando, FL, market with three new stores earlier this year, Sedano's Supermarkets had grown to become one of the nation's larger Hispanic grocery chains, employing more than 3,000 people.

Continuing on its mission to reignite the packaged salad category and less than six months after introducing its revamped Dole salads line, Dole Fresh Vegetables, based in Monterey, CA, has launched the first Dole salad kits with a commitment to wholesome, all-natural ingredients that extends to the very bottom of the bag.

Dole's all-natural salad kits now combine farm-fresh lettuces and vegetables with all-natural toppings, including nuts, croutons, cheeses, seasonings and dressings. The kits began shipping to U.S. stores in April and the rollout will continue through June.

WASHINGTON -- Fresh produce businesses can for the first time compare third-party auditor services thanks to a working group spearheaded by the United Fresh Produce Association.

The Audits Benchmarking Matrix, which was released April 30, allows users to compare eight organizations that perform pre-farm gate audits, seven businesses that perform post-farm gate audits, and four organizations whose standards have been benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative.

Retailers pulled out all the stops this year to secure their share of the $150,000 in cash and prizes awarded in the Idaho Potato Commission's 19th annual Potato Lover’s Month retail display contest. Floor-to-ceiling, head- turning displays and increased retailer participation demonstrated that one of the more anticipated retail promotions of the year is more popular than ever.

PARLIER, CA -- At its annual spring committee board meetings held here April 29, the California Tree Fruit Agreement in Reedley, CA, which administers marketing orders for fresh-market California peaches, plums and nectarines, approved an official combined crop estimate of just over 46.8 million packages for the three commodities, which is virtually unchanged from last year's actual shipments of just over 46.6 million packages.

With above-normal rainfall and snowpack for California this year, state and federal water authorities have both increased their allocation of water deliveries to agencies serving farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to 40 percent, up from previously announced allocations of 30 percent.

The increases were announced May 4 in separate press releases from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the California Department of Water Resources.