New potato acreage has reversed course in California's Kern County, dropping from 9,268 acres in 2007 to 8,362 in 2008, a decline of nearly 10 percent, according to published data from the Kern County Department of Agriculture.

The figures exclude the Kern County Department of Agriculture's category for "chippers," or potato chips, a category that is not used in the calculations by the Kern County Shippers Association. Also, one major Kern County packingshed does not publicly release its acreage and therefore is not included in the totals.

Mario Batali, the celebrity guru of Italian restaurants in America, claims that the keys to the cuisine in his restaurants are freshness and simplicity. But that mantra is almost contradictory to what patrons express after dining at any of the 14 restaurants.

Sweetbay Supermarket, the Tampa, FL-based supermarket company of the Belgium-based Delhaize Group, has named Lori Malcolm vice president of human resources at the supermarket chain.

Ms. Malcolm's primary responsibilities include promoting Sweetbay's passion for food and passion for people among associates, senior managers, and operating officers and directors. She will also be responsible for enhancing Sweetbay's corporate culture and values, helping to create a vibrant place to work for the employees.

Market data recently released by AC Nielsen indicate that sliced apples marketed by Crunch Pak LLC in Cashmere, WA, rank among the top prepared food items consumed.

Crunch Pak Director of Marketing Tony Freytag said that the one-pound bag of sweet apple slices was fourth on the list, and the company's tart apple slices ranked 12th. This is no small feat, he noted, because the overall list includes 1,400 items classified as prepared foods.

After more than 60 years in the fresh produce industry, Jerry Grossman is ready to call it a job well done.

Mr. Grossman spent most of those years as an independent produce broker. His license expires May 20, and at 86 years old, he is closing the business. It would seem that he has had a pretty good run. "I don't think anyone's ever called me a rotten son of a bitch," Mr. Grossman joked.

The secret to his success, he told The Produce News, came down to these three attributes: quality, honesty and volume.

FRESNO, CA -- When Rob O'Rourke, former president of RJO Produce Marketing, here, and a founding partner of the company, left to work for Topco in Chicago nearly four years ago, his brother John O'Rourke, also a founding partner, stepped into the position of president at RJO.

About nine months ago, after spending three years with Topco, Rob O'Rourke returned to RJO as senior vice president of retail development.