KENNETT SQUARE, PA -- Construction approvals for local zoning took two years, but persistence has paid off for Manfredi Cold Storage, based here. Frank Manfredi, president of Manfredi Logistics Service, told The Produce News Nov. 20 that the first phase of a warehouse expansion will be open for Chilean fruit business in early February.

From the vineyards of Australia to kitchens across the city of London, it is difficult to find a holiday meal that does not include potatoes.

The Idaho Potato Commission has partnered with Rosemount Wines in a unique holiday promotion that gives consumers $1 off a five-pound bag of Idaho potatoes as well as Gordon Ramsay's own recipe for Champ, an English-style mashed potato dish that is sure to become a family favorite. Consumers can also enjoy holiday savings from other promotion participants, including pork and Maille mustard.

In response to food safety concerns from retail and foodservice customers, Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, CA, took a proactive position and began encouraging its avocado growers to become Good Agricultural Practices certified.

GAP certification helps prevent food safety issues. The program seeks to identify all potential sources of food contaminants that may exist on a farm or ranch, and it is designed to give growers all the tools they need to control and monitor any potential contamination sources they encounter.

BOUCHERVILLE, QC -- The Quebec Produce Growers Association is getting closer to finalizing its plans to relocate La Place des Producteurs or Growers' Place, Montreal's wholesale produce market.

The association, which manages the facility, has been in negotiations with the owner of the land on which the market sits to move La Place des Producteurs to a location at the far eastern end of Montreal by the spring of 2011.

LOS ANGELES -- The San Diego County Farm Bureau recently named grower Henry William (Bill) Witman its 2009 Farmer of the Year. The farm bureau presented the award to Mr. Witman Nov. 11 at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, CA.

Mr. Witman supplies avocados to Giumarra Agricom International LLC, based in Escondido.

Johan van den Berg has been reappointed president and chief executive officer at Eurofresh Farms in Willcox, AZ, the company he co-founded in 1990. The firm emerged from bankruptcy Nov. 18 after restructuring its debt, which reportedly reached $300 million when it filed for bankruptcy protection in late April of this year.