WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced June 27 that it intends to re-charter the Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee for the 2011-13 term.

The advisory committee, which has been re-chartered and approved by the secretary of agriculture every two years since 2001, examines the full spectrum of issues faced by the fruit and vegetable industry.

WASHINGTON -- Twenty reported illnesses in five states prompted the U.S. Food & Drug Administration June 27 to warn consumers not to eat alfalfa or spicy sprouts from Evergreen Produce, a company that is refusing to recall the products.

FDA issued the warning after its probe appeared to link the 20 illnesses -- including one hospitalization due to Salmonella Enteritidis in Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota and Washington state -- to Evergreen Produce sprouts.

IRWINDALE, CA -- Ready Pac Foods Inc. has announced the hiring of Bryan Jaynes as its new salad marketing director. Reporting directly to Barbara Dan, Ready Pac's vice president of marketing and R&D, Mr. Jaynes brings close to 20 years of marketing experience in both retail and foodservice channels, including leadership on both branded and private-label products.

Summer is here, and a great number of farmers markets (also called green markets) are popping up on the scene selling fresh fruits and vegetables. The products being offered to shoppers at the markets normally send a message of being locally grown. That’s what the majority of consumers trusts and believes.

However, is all of the produce on display actually locally grown? If so, where was it grown?

BONITA SPRINGS, FL — Amid ongoing legislative and disease battles, citrus is still a major player in Florida’s economy and is well positioned to become an even bigger factor in the future. That was the message some 650 growers, shippers and industry affiliates took away from the annual Florida Citrus Conference, held here June 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort.