NEWARK, DE -- Produce Marketing Association's first-ever affiliate is now being formed for members in Australia and New Zealand, and will officially begin operating this fall, according to association leaders.

WASHINGTON -- From October 2008 to March 2009, Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., based in Terra Bella, CA, continued to process roasted pistachios and ship product despite the fact that four laboratories detected Salmonella on eight occasions, according to an inspection report by the Food & Drug Administration.

The berry patch is led by strawberries first and foremost, followed by blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. But raspberries are more than holding their own.

Nishan Moutafian, raspberry and blackberry business manager for Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc., told The Produce News that the quality of Driscoll's raspberries is improving continually. The company's raspberries all are proprietary varieties.

The first-ever U.S. watermelon promotion in Japan will take place this August.

Gordon Hunt, director of marketing for the Orlando, FL-based National Watermelon Promotion Board, arranged the promotion. Mr. Hunt is fluent in Japanese and long ago, in another position, helped the Florida Department of Citrus open the Japanese market to Florida citrus.

If you're not in business to make a profit, then why are you in it at all?

Every company wants to make money. This past year has seen the recession eating away at profits and companies struggling to make ends meet. When profits fail to increase, they drag down growth, which isn't very healthy for the future of any establishment.

Growers of California stone fruit, including white-flesh peaches and nectarines, have suffered hard times in recent years as production costs continue to rise and market prices have stagnated or declined.

The fallout has been significant, as several major growers, shippers and packers, some of which have been in business for generations, have downsized, restructured, sold off assets, or simply closed their doors. There is a widespread consensus in the stone fruit industry that there will be still more fallout in the weeks and months ahead.