An early-January cold snap did very little damage to the Florida citrus crop of DNE World Fruit Sales and in fact should make for sweeter, stronger fruit in the second half, according to Kevin Swords, citrus sales manager for the Fort Pierce, FL-based company.

Christopher Ranch plans to continue to increase its organic production by 10 percent each year until it is able to meet the growing demand for California-grown organic garlic, according to Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing.

Christopher Ranch in Gilroy, CA, is a major grower, packer and shipper of organic garlic. It has been growing organically since 1997, and it handles organic products produced by other growing partners.

By the end of January, the produce industry's major trade associations have agreed to develop a framework by which new cantaloupe-specific food-safety guidance will be developed and disseminated in a very quick, though yet to be specified, time frame.

That was one of the more important outcomes from a private meeting of cantaloupe industry stakeholders that took place Jan. 11 in San Diego, CA, according to participant Stephen Patricio, a cantaloupe shipper who is also chairman of the Center for Produce Safety, which hosted the event.

Food safety in the produce industry continues to be top of mind for consumers and industry leaders in 2012. Recognizing that ensuring consumer confidence in produce is crucial to building greater consumption, the Produce Marketing Association announced the donation of $900,000 to the Center for Produce Safety over the next two years. With this contribution, PMA continues to reinvest in the future of its members and ensures that all other funds provided to the Center go directly to fund research.

The Avocado Producers & Exporting Packers Association of Michoacán, known more commonly by the acronym APEAM, has appointed Eduardo Serena as the new interim marketing director for Avocados from Mexico, a post previously held by Emiliano Escobedo, who has accepted a new position as executive director for the Hass Avocado Board.

The U.S. apple industry is reacting with strong negativity to the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would not issue an August apple crop report in 2012 due to budget constraints.

In response to the announcement, Nancy Foster, president and chief executive officer for the U.S. Apple Association, issued a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack Jan. 6 stating that the association was “greatly surprised to learn that USDA’s annual forecast of the U.S. apple crop contained in the August crop report would be discontinued.”