If approved by U.S. authorities, irradiated fruits from Brazil would be economical to ship, since the irradiation benefit of longer shelf life means that shippers could use sea freight rather than more costly air transportation.

George Karski, president of Securefoods Inc., a food irradiation company, is setting up food irradiators in Brazil to treat papayas and mangos for the U.S. market. Despite being a top producer of fruits and vegetables, Brazil's post- harvest losses are significant because of insect infestation and rot, he said.

It is important to understand that there is no kill step (no boiling, freezing or radiation) in the processing of raw, fresh vegetables, whether it's done in a home kitchen, in a restaurant, in a cafeteria or in a salad-in-a-bag factory.

Fresh means fresh. The freezer pouch and the can or jar are the only zero- tolerance food-safety solutions when it comes to vegetables.

Fresh-cut, salad-in-a-bag vegetables are safer than fresh, off-the-shelf vegetables.

Emily Marlephansakul has been named executive vice president of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council. She joined the 42-year-old trade association in 2001 following her graduation from California State University at Fullerton. Following her affiliation with the council, she went on to obtain her master's degree while working as member development director and event coordinator. She was promoted to vice president in 2006.

PHILADELPHIA - Anticipating that high-quality fruit and favorable ocean freight costs will make lemons from Turkey competitive with lemons from California and Arizona, where shippers face high truck rates, Twin Garden Sales Inc. in Harvard, IL, received its first load of Turkish lemons the second week of January. After a two-week voyage, the fruit arrived at the port of New York and then was shipped to Procacci Bros. Sales Corp., here, for distribution.

The large Turkish lemons were being handled by Twin Garden's Jack Lambke.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a ruling that clears the way for UglyRipe tomatoes to be shipped outside Florida, superceding standards set forth in the Florida Tomato Marketing Order and enforced by the Florida Tomato Committee.

SALINAS, CA -- Fresh Express, a leading producer of value-added salads in North America based here, announced Wednesday, Jan. 17 that it would provide up to $2 million to fund multidisciplinary research to help the fresh- cut produce industry prevent contamination by the deadly E. coli 0157:H7 pathogen.