WASHINGTON -- Top leaders of the Produce Marketing Association met with members of Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials the week of May 10 to voice support for immigration reform, food safety and boosting consumption of fruits and vegetables.

PMA has ramped up its presence in Washington in recent years and is now viewed on Capitol Hill as an authority for "real world information that's credible," PMA President Bryan Silbermann told The Produce News May 15.

If there is one key to winning over another bell pepper customer according to Mike Aiton, it is a good recipe, an explanation about chili rellenos, a chart showing nutritional content or anything written that educates.

Mr. Aiton, who heads Coachella, CA-based Prime Time International's marketing, new business development and new product development, said that bell peppers -- more than other products -- convince customers once they grasp their nutritional content and status as a staple in diets worldwide.

Fremont, CA-based Purfresh, a provider of technologies that purify, protect and preserve food and water, announced May 10 results of recent third-party research that demonstrate ozone's applicability and effectiveness as a tool to improve the safety of fresh food.

After a winter of doing without, U.S. consumers now have ample supplies of fresh Florida tomatoes available.

Brutal winter weather wiped out as much as 85 percent of the Florida tomato crop. Some plants were salvaged, and others were reset. The result is a later- than-usual crop of very good tomatoes at promotable volumes.

With the shortage of Florida tomatoes, buyers and brokers sourced most of their product from Nogales and Mexico from mid-January through mid-May. Some Florida tomato growers began picking as late as May 12 - more than two weeks behind the usual deal.

NOGALES, AZ -- The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas' annual membership meeting May 11 here had several highlights, including Jaime Chamberlain of JC Distributing assuming the chairman's position.

In addition, Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports was elected to fill the position of chairman-elect, members had the opportunity to meet new FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer, and a slate of board directors was elected by the membership.

After completing a retail promotion tied to the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, Mexican producers and exporters of avocados have launched a new campaign hoping to capitalize on the interest created by soccer's World Cup.