Ray Roch, a longtime figure in fresh produce in Rhode Island, died Thursday, May 20, at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence following a stroke. He was 75.

Mr. Roch's foray into fresh produce began when his father gave him a room in his West Warwick, RI, grocery store to sell fresh produce. Mr. Roch eventually ran the business, and today there remains the store in West Warwick — now called Roch’s Fruit & Produce Inc. — and Roch’s Produce store in nearby Narragansett, RI.

At its annual meeting May 20 at Corral de Tierra Country Club in Salinas, CA, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California installed Steve Church of Church Bros., also based in Salinas, as chairman of the board.

Sun World International LLC is expanding the company's line of branded produce offerings with the reintroduction of the "Le Rouge Royale" sweet red pepper brand and “Le Jaune Royale,” its yellow pepper counterpart, just in time for the California pepper season.

NEWARK, DE -- Marguerite (Margi) Prueitt joined Produce Marketing Association's senior management team May 24 as executive director of PMA's Foundation for Industry Talent, succeeding Cindy Seel.

Reporting to Bryan Silbermann, PMA's president and chief executive officer, she will serve as the staff lead to the FIT board of directors and will be responsible for all program activities and fund development.

WASHINGTON -- Fresh Express announced a May 25 recall of ready-to-eat salads after the Food & Drug Administration found Salmonella in a random test.

Salmonella was confirmed in a single package of Fresh Express "Hearts of Romaine Salad" during routine sampling, according to the Salinas, CA-based firm. The company is recalling 27 different products, even though the ready- to-eat salads are labeled with expired use-by dates of May 13-16.

Pandol Bros. Inc., a grower-shipper of premium table grapes based in Delano, CA, hired Scott Reade to the newly created position of vice president of sales and marketing.

In his new position, Mr. Reade is responsible for all aspects of the sales and marketing functions, including growing the company's client base through distribution channel diversification as well as customer segment diversification.