Naturipe Farms has promotable volumes of fresh, flavorful blackberries from the Southeast, led by Georgia-grown fruit and featuring its highly sought after proprietary variety, Southern Grace. With Mexico’s crop winding down and domestic production ramping up, this year’s blackberry season is off to a strong start.

Members of the 2025 Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class participated in a leadership series from Rutgers University during April and May. “The Pathways for Aspiring Leaders series presented five one-hour virtual sessions that immersed our class in a journey through leadership,” said Susan McAleavey Sarlund, EPC executive director. “Weekly sessions were informative and thought-provoking and provided opportunity for smaller break-out discussions.”

The NJDA administers a variety of programs to promote agriculture and food safety for human and animal food in New Jersey. NJDA Agricultural Products agents are trained to perform inspections and audits within the scope of specific state and federal programs. This ensures that these programs are implemented consistently and meet or exceed USDA, FDA and New Jersey standards. You can find out more by accessing the New Jersey Department of Agriculture/Marketing and Development website listed below.

Danaco Solutions has hired Jessie Garcia as senior manager of food safety and regulatory compliance. Garcia brought with her a deep expertise and ground-up approach to enhancing the company's food-safety standards across the supply chain.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc., a leading provider of thoughtful expressions designed to help inspire customers to give more, connect more and build more and better relationships, announced that Adolfo Villagomez was appointed as CEO on May 12. Villagomez succeeded Jim McCann, who remains executive chairman and is actively involved in the company.

NuBerry Farms is a true 52-week berry supplier, with domestic production in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and Michigan, and import operations based in Peru to ensure consistent, year-round availability.