Pears have been known to be a bit of a challenging fruit for consumers to pick and purchase, but that is all about to change thanks to Crunch Pak’s new Sweet Peeled Pear Slices called Opera (O-pear-a), which will be hitting the foodservice and retail markets this fall.

Schnuck Markets Inc. and Instacart will expand their omnichannel partnership by deploying Caper Carts, Instacart’s smart carts, in select stores. Caper Carts automatically identify items as they are added to the cart using computer vision and artificial intelligence, allowing customers to bag as they shop, skip the line and seamlessly checkout on the Cart from anywhere in the store. Caper Carts will first roll out at select Schnucks St. Louis stores this fall, with a broader planned rollout later this year following successful initial deployments.

Top Brass is a fourth-generation family farm that started out with just an immigrant’s dream. Ted Vignolo created this empire and his children’s children continue to watch the business flourish.

Grapes have long been a lifeline for Top Brass, with the farm having started growing its initial 40 acres of table grapes in the San Joaquin Valley in 1962 and increasing production almost yearly over the last six decades.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

Nature Fresh Farms has launched its organic, greenhouse-grown strawberries in North America, filling demand for premium, organically grown strawberries that offer increased flavor and freshness with Nature Fresh Farms Organic Greenhouse Berries.

Salix Fruits, a leading company in the import and export of fresh fruits, touted its achievements during a successful first half of the year.