California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, who chairs the Senate Committee on Food & Agriculture, sent a letter June 15 to A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture, sharply criticizing him for his "refusal to participate" in a Senate committee hearing scheduled for the following day. The subject of the hearing was "Evaluating the consolidation and elimination of the California Department of Food & Agriculture."

WASHINGTON - The Center for Produce Safety just increased its budget to $3.5 million to spend on research proposals due July 1 that might solve the most vexing food-safety dilemmas for commodities recently linked to outbreaks.

In May, the center said it had $2 million to spend on research projects. But on June 11, the center announced it was upping the ante to $3.5 million after California officials kicked in more funding.

McDaniel Fruit Co. in Fallbrook, CA, has announced the official retirement of Katherine M. McDaniel, the company's chief executive officer and co-founder.

Rankin H. McDaniel, president of McDaniel Fruit, told The Produce News June 16 that his father and mother founded McDaniel Fruit Co. in 1957 and that his mother "has been working here with the company since that time."

Throughout this summer, Safeway stores coast to coast and in Canada will sport a new look in the produce department with a locally grown section.

Almost all the retail giant's more than 1,700 stores will feature in-store signage and merchandising touting locally grown product. For this program, the company divided its stores into regions, and each will carry and advertise products that are from the same geographic region.

With a lighter-than-anticipated combined volume of table grapes being shipped out of Mexico and California's Coachella Valley during May and the first half of June -- and with that situation expected to continue up to the start of the San Joaquin Valley grape harvest the final days of June and beginning of July -- market prices were expected to be strong for the early grapes out of the San Joaquin Valley.

The Really Cool Food Co. LLC, a leading natural and organic prepared foods company, and Renaissance Food Group LLC, a leader in the distribution and production of fresh value-added fruits and vegetables, have announced a merger that will offer retailers and consumers a broad selection of the freshest prepared and value-added fresh foods available.