Following an announcement from Taco Bell Corp. of a preliminary and inconclusive test for E.coli O157:H7 on green onions, Ready Pac announced that it has taken immediate precautionary measures to protect public health.

GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemalan foliage grower-exporter Alfredo Miron may be best known in the U.S. produce and floral industries for being, in the 1990s, the first international member on the board of the Newark, DE-based Produce Marketing Association.

Mr. Miron is also known as one of Central America's larger grower-exporters of leather leaf through his firm Corporaci?n Tak S.A.

But by the end of next year, Mr. Miron may also be known as the vice president of Guatemala.

On Nov. 24, for the first time ever, a container of greenhouse tomatoes was exported from Central America to the United States, according to Francisco Viteri, president of Agropecuaria Popoy?n S.A. and La Carreta in Guatemala City.

The first container was produced at Chirioj Farm in San Raymundo, Guatemala, and packed at La Carreta Farm's packing facility in El Jocotillo, Guatemala. The receiving importer in the United States was Del Monte Fresh Produce in Coral Gables, FL, according to Mr. Viteri.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association issued a press release Nov. 29 to the trade advising that Charles F. (Chip) Hinton's employment as executive director of the association was to be discontinued effective Nov. 30.

Steve Peirce, founder of Avocado Marketing Services Inc. and for the last 11 years a consultant to the California Avocado Commission, died suddenly Wednesday, Nov. 22, of a heart attack at his home in Lake Elsinore, CA. He was 55 years old.

Park City Group Inc. in Park City, UT, a leading provider of inventory and labor optimization solutions for retailers, has announced that Earthbound Farm has joined its roster of customers. Earthbound Farm, a leading provider of organic produce and specialty salads, becomes Park City Group's newest Supply Chain Profit Link customer.