Bloomington, CA-based Index Fresh has appointed Giovanni Cavaletto chief operating officer. "Giovanni brings his valuable field experience in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to the executive board of Index Fresh. His experience and understanding of both local and international markets are greatly appreciated," Dana Thomas, president of Index, said in a press release.

Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. has begun construction of a $50 million facility in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, for the production of the firm's sweetened dried cranberry line.

The company broke ground June 22 for the 100,000-square-foot plant; construction is expected to be complete by September 2008.

Tracy, CA-based Pacific Triple E Ltd. has rebuilt its entire production line here for its Roma tomatoes, installing five eight-lane MAF optic sizers.

The upgrades to Pacific Triple E's packingshed could increase the company's production speed by as much as 30 percent, according to Billy Heller, chief executive officer. The new system should "increase yields by 5 to 12 percent and give us greater flexibility," he said.

Retail grocery workers for Southern California's top three chains apparently overwhelmingly authorized a strike during balloting on June 24 and 25, but the vote is not expected to lead to an immediate walkout.

The names, by now, are becoming familiar to the public: Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, avian influenza.

These are among the invasive pests and emerging diseases that can threaten our domestic plant and animal agriculture if we do not maintain vigilance.

Companies in and around the Salinas Valley will not face criminal charges over the deadly E. coli outbreak last year that was linked to fresh spinach grown by at least one area farm outside the Salinas Valley, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday, June 21.