A fire at the Brandt Farms Inc. cold storage facility in Reedley, CA, on the morning of Wednesday, June 15, damaged the facility's main cold room and caused the loss of a considerable amount of inventory, according to Dave Maddux, a salesman with the company. No one was hurt, he said.

URUAPAN, MICHOACAN, MEXICO -- Hosted by Asociacion de Productores & Empacadores Exportadores de Aguacate de Michoacan A.C., or APEAM, a group of U.S.-based media professionals were brought on a tour of the Michoacan avocado-producing region, gaining insights into the area's production practices and learning about the premium fruit now being shipped to nearly all of the United States.

WASHINGTON  Plaintiffs who say they became sick from eating tomatoes served at Sheetz convenience stores can sue Sheetz and the bankrupt Coronet Foods Inc., ruled a federal bankruptcy judge.

The Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Board in Harrisburg has appointed Karin Tananis as its new executive director.

She has a combined total of four years experience working for the board and has been serving as interim program director since March.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its June citrus crop estimate June 10, and other than future crop reports for bookkeeping purposes, the June estimate is considered the final report for the 2004-05 season.

While the Florida crop in all citrus commodities is down radically from normal years due to the four hurricanes that swept through the state last fall, the current report is only slightly different from the one issued by the USDA a month earlier.

WASHINGTON  The Senate Finance Committee has approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement, but the future of the accord is far from clear.

By an 11-9 vote, the Senate committee recommended that the White House send to Congress the treaty that would lower tariffs in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The United States signed the agreement in August, but Congress has yet to ratify it.