Concerned for the integrity of the sweet Vidalia onion name, growers of the prized crop are taking legal action against National Onion Labs Inc. in Collins, GA, a company that uses scientific means to verify and certify the sweetness of its clients' onions.

Josh Archer, an attorney with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, which represents a group of Vidalia onion growers who feel that the extra sweet certification claim is an infringement of the Vidalia trademark, said that a lawsuit was filed Feb. 27 against National Onion Labs that would force it to stop using the verbiage.

"It's getting better every day," said Nick Cusimano of Cusimano Produce Co. Inc. in New Orleans. Last week we did better than the week before, and weve got two more customers opening up today.

Six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and its produce industry, both the city and the industry are coming back. Those small local grocery stores had been closed since the storm, but their reopening means a bit more business for local produce suppliers.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has just released its long-awaited guidelines for the fresh-cut produce industry, which appear to mirror the industry's own food-safety control measures, according to the International Fresh-cut Produce Association.

Canadian officials eased import requirements for Mexican cantaloupes in another sign that governments are embracing Mexico's certification program.

Mexican cantaloupes were linked to illnesses in Canada during 2001 and 2002, which prompted the U.S. and Canadian governments to ban cantaloupes from the lucrative markets. In response to both import alerts, the Mexican government developed a Cantaloupe Certification Program based on Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.

Three produce suppliers began shipping radio frequency identification-tagged cases to Publix supermarkets in a pilot program that will test the web-based tracking system and involve nearly 300 stores across Florida.

"We're excited by the results so far," said Maria Brous, media and community relations director for Publix Super Markets Inc. We started reading RFID shipments in late January.