WASHINGTON -- The farm bill and food safety issues are just two of the issues on the agenda for the Jan. 23-24 meeting of the USDA's Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee here.

Originally chartered in 2001, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns named 25 produce industry members to serve two-year terms on the committee earlier this year. Committee members represent fresh fruit and vegetable growers-shippers, wholesalers, retailers, industry trade associations, importers, processors, foodservice suppliers, brokers and state departments of agriculture.

WASHINGTON -- The United Fresh Produce Association announced that its board of directors has elected to continue its partnership with the Food Marketing Institue show, first launched with the co-location of its trade shows in 2004.

SURREY, BC -- The growers, board of directors and staff of BC Hot House Foods Inc. bid farewell to Dawn E. Gray at the BCHH grower meeting held Thursday, Dec. 14.

After four dedicated years of service, Ms. Gray is stepping down as executive vice president of sales and marketing at BC Hot House Foods. During her tenure there, Ms. Gray devoted her time to building and strengthening grower relations, creating trade programs with lasting partners, establishing 12- month supply programs and overseeing all sales activities and marketing functions.

One day several years ago, as she and her father sat talking, Jessica Peri posed a question.

"I asked him what he was going to do when he retired," Ms. Peri recounted. "And he said he'd probably sell the company. It scared me -- I didn't want that to happen."

PHILADELPHIA -- Early maturity and Brix for Spanish clementines are better than normal, according to Bill Weyland, director of imports for Seald Sweet International LLC in Vero Beach, FL. The pre-Thanksgiving clementine varieties were developing internally at a faster rate than in 2005. With another shipload of clementines arriving in early December at Philadelphia's Tioga Marine Fruit Terminal, the citrus continued to look very good.

Most major players in the southern Texas produce industry are almost by definition importers of Mexican product.

"I do not know of a major [Rio Grande Valley] Texas shipper that isn't working both sides of the border," said John McClung, president of the Texas Produce Association.