Calavo Growers Inc. hired Andy Foster to support the company’s recently aligned prepared division as vice president of sales – national accounts.

IFTF Vijfhuizen 2022, the International Floriculture Trade Fair is where the world's floriculture industry gathered Nov. 9-11 in Vijfhuizen, Netherlands. Launched in 2010, this 3 day trade exhibition promoted the trade of fresh flowers & plants, while aiming to increase production and consumption at the same time.

With almost 300 exhibitors from over 30 countries and more than 25.000 trade visitors from over 100 countries, IFTF provided a platform where the best and newest available products could be found, and latest developments and trends were discussed.

Grocers are facing a bevy of issues heading into 2023. How they react to these issues will make all the difference in emerging strongly from this challenging period.

With inflation persisting at 7.7 percent, fighting its effects is a top priority for grocers, who will look to generate higher margins and avoid passing rising costs onto consumers.

The fourth Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class benefited from a festive and informative tour of Hionis Greenhouses in Whitehouse Station, NJ. After the tour, participants furthered their leadership education with a seminar from Rutgers University Office of Continuing Professional Education. 

Harvest Sensations named Joseph P. D’Ottavio as its president. He will focus on profit optimization, efficiencies and growth to include leadership across internal and external stakeholders.

D’Ottavio brings over 25 years of industry experience to the organization, including completing the joint venture of a family-owned produce business (Heeren Bros. Inc.) and a distribution company (Walsma & Lyons) and led rebranding at Vine Line Produce Distribution.

Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is passionate about making a difference in fresh produce food safety. She believes strongly in tapping the federal Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to advance the food safety of her state’s specialty crop industry.

Center for Produce Safety relies on diverse funding sources to finance its research program. Generous industry contributors are frequently noted in the news; less well-known, but equally important, are grants that fresh produce-centric state governments direct to CPS.