Wayne E. Baily Produce Co. will highlight consistency in sweet potato sizes at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Exposition in Monterey, CA, July 20-22.

LOS ANGELES — Samra Produce & Farms Inc., here, a grower-shipper as well as an importer and distributor specializing in Asian and Indian fruits and vegetables, has increased its producing acreage this year in the Coachella Valley of California.

The Garlic Co., headquartered in Bakersfield, CA, has a new product called Triple Washed Diced Garlic that it will be featuring at its booth, number 61, at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Exposition in Monterey, CA, July 20-22.

Favorable spring weather and a close proximity to its customer base has put Fresh from the Start LLC in a strong position for the start of its 2012 Maine broccoli deal.

“We’re right on target to start shipping in about a week or a week-and-a-half,” Lauren Keenan, who is in sales at the Riverhead, NY-based company, told The Produce News July 5. “And with the high freight rates out of California this summer, we offer a huge advantage for our customer base on the East Coast.”

On July 13, the U.S. Apple Association, headquartered in Vienna, VA, issued a press release stating that it does not support the regulatory proposal pending before the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fully deregulate genetically engineered "Arctic" branded apples.

Buyers who do business with California Tomato Farmers members now have additional reassurance that the tomatoes they purchase are grown in full compliance with stringent food-safety regulations through a comprehensive database available on the CTF website.

The database, which allows tomato buyers to view for themselves the food-safety compliance and audit results of CTF members, will be on display Friday, July 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Market Fair.