After competing in local competitions across Canada, five top culinary students represented their region in a final competition to prove who is beyond compare when it comes to pears.

The Pear Bureau Northwest's third annual "Pear Excellence" recipe competition, which is open to Canadian culinary students only, named a National Grand Prize winner May 11 following a heated competition that took place at the Culinaria Restaurant at The Art Institute of Vancouver.

The joining of two produce firms in the Twin Cities area is "coming along well," according to Phillip Brooks, chief executive officer of H. Brooks & Co., the New Brighton, MN-based company that joined forces with Brings Co., a fresh produce distributor that specializes in onions and is based in St. Paul, MN.

Mr. Brooks spoke with The Produce News May 18 on the heels of the deal that was announced March 30. Brings Co. and its employees moved into the Brooks warehouse on April 24.

WASHINGTON -- In a move that will provide a new asset for its members involved in the global fresh convenience industry that encompasses fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as well as innovative commodity packaging, the United Fresh Produce Association has announced a partnership with Market Intelligence's Fresh Convenience magazine to present the Fresh Convenience Congress, a new educational program for the fresh-cut and value-added commodity sector June 22-24 at London's Hilton Tower Bridge hotel.

VANCOUVER -- Canadians are feeling fairly bullish right now. They are happy with themselves, and they believe the economy is improving.

ATLANTA -- In 1969, Apollo 11 carried the first men to land on the moon, the Beatles released Abbey Road, The Brady Bunch premiered on television, and a man named Tommy Irvin became commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Mr. Irvin was appointed by the governor to finish the term of the departing agriculture commissioner. The Atlanta Journal & Constitution ran an editorial suggesting that he was merely keeping the chair warm until the next election.

WASHINGTON -- Top leaders of the Produce Marketing Association met with members of Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials the week of May 10 to voice support for immigration reform, food safety and boosting consumption of fruits and vegetables.

PMA has ramped up its presence in Washington in recent years and is now viewed on Capitol Hill as an authority for "real world information that's credible," PMA President Bryan Silbermann told The Produce News May 15.