WASHINGTON -- It would appear that Congress heard the cries from the suffering tomato industry, as a House of Representatives agriculture subcommittee has planned a July 15 hearing to investigate the federal government's handling of the tomato and spinach contamination outbreaks.

This comes after news that the federal government was expanding its outbreak investigation to other produce items commonly served with tomatoes.

A cooler loaded with about 30,000 cartons of tomatoes burned to the ground July 8 at Gonzales Packing Co. in Gonzales, CA, when a faulty generator sparked an electrical fire that quickly spread to the building.

Office Manager Melanie Horwath said July 9 that the fire was very large and temporarily resulted in the cessation of operations, but she said that the firm hoped to be up and running in a very short time. "We are going to have a crew in tomorrow cleaning things up, and then we'll see where we're at."

Watsonville, CA-based California Giant owners and staff are preparing to walk and run around the clock in the battle against cancer for the fifth consecutive year during the American Cancer Society Relay For Life this summer in Watsonville. This 24-hour "celebration of life" brings numerous groups and individuals concerned about cancer together for a unified effort to fight back.

Salinas, CA-based Mills Family Farms will be inactive as of Saturday, July 5. David Armanasco, a spokesperson hired by the company, said that the Blue Book has listed the company as inactive as part of a restructuring taking place at Mills Family Farms.

Mr. Armanasco said that Mills' product would continue to be available through other distribution channels and that Mills is in contact with its customers regarding these matters.

The Produce News reported news of the Mills restructuring in its June 30 issue.

(United Fresh Produce Association e-mailed the following information Tuesday evening, July 8 on the "status of government food safety advice to consumers and industry" regarding the Salmonella saintpaul outbreak.)

Over the past 24 hours, we have received a number of questions from members regarding the [Food & Drug Adminstration's] and [Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's] official advice to consumers and the industry regarding potential actions related to the Salmonella saintpaul outbreak.

NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association's current and past leaders joined together to note the death of Robert G. Backovich, a long-time retail produce veteran. Mr. Backovich died June 30 at the age of 76.

Mr. Backovich suffered from from a rare disease called Amyloidosis, a disorder marked by the deposition of amyloid in various organs and tissues of the body.