Topics such as food safety, immigration reform and the overhaul of the national healthcare system rightfully took center stage when the Texas Produce Association held its annual convention Aug. 19-21 in Austin.

Scenario No. 1:
Customers were moving along quickly in a local supermarket, eager to get home. Hostile weather was beginning to threaten the area with a massive thunderstorm and high winds predicted. Meanwhile, the produce department was loaded with product on all displays and ready for a big sales weekend. Later that evening, several inches of rain caused flooding and crippled the town. In the ensuing week, the produce department lost a substantial amount of sales and experienced a huge shrink in product.


Scenario No. 2: :

The Produce News has learned that Rick Eastes, who was named vice president of sales and marketing for Fruit Patch Sales LLC in Dinuba, CA, Dec. 8, 2008, the exclusive sales agent for Fruit Patch Inc., is no longer with the company.

It is the third change in management at the Fruit Patch sales organization in two years.

The pear harvest is officially underway in Washington state, and Stemilt Growers is enthusiastic about the high-quality pears that will fill store shelves this season.

In addition to consumer favorites, like Bartlett and d'Anjou, Stemilt expects specialty varieties, like Asian pears, to provide retailers with a boost in sales this fall.

QUEBEC CITY, QC -- Although the slogan for the Quebec Produce Marketing Association's 62nd annual convention was "Embracing a Culture of Change," many things about the Quebec produce industry have not changed, especially its hospitality, warmth and camaraderie.

Over 500 members of the trade turned out to network with old friends and make new ones at the event, held here Aug. 20-22 at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Canada's largest food distributor, announced that its subsidiary, Loblaws Inc., had purchased all of the common shares of Richmond, BC-based T&T Supermarket Inc., one of Canada's larger Asian food retailers, for $225 million (Canadian).