FRESNO, CA -- The California Table Grape Commission, here, is hoping to form an association in the minds of baseball fans between baseball and California grapes. From Little League to Major League, from players to fans, grapes are the ideal snack at a game, according to Jim Howard, the commission's communications director.

SUN VALLEY, ID -- Several dozen members of the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Fruit & Vegetable Association, along with family members, attended the group's 47th annual convention June 4-6, here.

In addition to the election of the 2009-10 officers and board of directors, the three-day event included a general business meeting, transportation sessions and a keynote address by Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of Western Growers Association.

A new economic stimulus policy implemented by the government of China is expected to have positive repercussions for U.S. garlic producers over the next year.

Jim Provost, president of I Love Produce LLC in Kelton, PA, characterized the situation by saying, "We are on the cusp of something historic. The prices [for Chinese peeled garlic] are at an historic high."

While discussions between produce professionals, government representatives and others regarding the need for a complete renovation of the Hunts Point Terminal Market have been ongoing for years, a new task force is determined to do whatever it can to help the project come to fruition.

John Bailey, executive director of Top 10 Produce LLC in Salinas, CA, told The Produce News that on June 1, the company launched an initiative to help family and small growers maximize the effectiveness of traceback technology in an efficient and low-cost way.

PHILADELPHIA - A single set of standards is critically important as the national produce industry moves with its global partners toward an efficient traceability program.

Those standards were detailed at a June 24 meeting, here, as more than 100 produce industry representatives gathered for a presentation about the Produce Traceability Initiative that was part of the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Connections series. Giving the presentation was Gary Fleming, vice president of industry technology and standards for PMA.