The Fresh Produce & Floral Council’s Apprentice Program is starting the 2026 season out fresh with a brand new cohort and an eye on developing future leaders for the floral and produce world. The initiative is now going into its 13th year, having been launched in May of 2014. The Apprentice Program is a resource for up and coming professionals to thrive and succeed, with the council supplying tools as well as mentors to guide and support the cohort. It also organizes networking opportunities for building meaningful connections in the industry.

Although known for its signature item, fresh Italian chestnuts, A.J. Trucco’s diversification into other produce at the Hunts Point Terminal Market has been ongoing for decades.

A.J. Trucco’s core items also include kiwifruit, mandarins and other citrus programs, blueberries, garlic, limes and cherries, maintaining a year-round supply across key categories, said Yasmin Pacia, chief marketing officer at the wholesaler at the Bronx, NY-based terminal market.

Affinity Sales-Retail has announced the recent hiring of Shayne Gordon as director of produce, New England.

Gordon has nearly 40 years of produce sales experience throughout the Northeast. He has had success for many years as a regional manufacturer’s representative and broker and is knowledgeable in all aspects of the industry.

He has a passion for building new produce brands as well as expansion of established brands.

Measure to Improve, a sustainability consulting firm focused exclusively on the fresh produce industry, launched two new solutions—service offerings designed to help produce companies meet growing reporting and regulatory expectations: the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Solution and the EPR Readiness Solution.

These solutions expand Measure to Improve’s sustainability offerings in response to increasing greenhouse gas disclosure expectations and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging regulations across the supply chain.

Gold Bell and Morning Kiss Organic will feature both conventional and organic Vidalia onions this spring, expanding their seasonal onion programs with the popular sweet onion variety grown exclusively in Georgia.

Vidalia onions will be available for conventional offerings and the Morning Kiss Organic brand for certified organic products. They will complement the companies’ broader spring and summer onion programs, which include eastern-grown red, yellow and white onions.

There’s a “tell” at Sun World’s table grape tasting events.

When the bowls run dry — when scientists, breeders and agronomists have eaten every last sample before the session ends — Jennifer Petersen knows they’ve found something. No spreadsheet required. No consumer panel. Just an empty bowl and a room full of people who can’t stop reaching for more.