GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ " Belatedly, the 2005 South African grape deal was scheduled to begin in the United States on Feb. 24.

Meeting with The Produce News Feb. 23 in a new location for Fisher Capespan in a historic old port white stucco office building, here, company President Marc Solomon said that a variety of factors postponed the South African grape exports to the United States.

BALTIMORE " Jan. 11, 2005, marked the 21st anniversary of Da Mimmo, a well-known Italian restaurant, celebrity hotspot and favorite neighborhood hangout in this city's Little Italy section.

And if you think one restaurant could not hold all those roles at the same time, you haven?t been to Da Mimmo.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a reference dose for perchlorate, a chemical that has been found in lettuce, milk and now in breast milk.

The new safe dose, which translates into 24.5 parts per billion in drinking water, is what the National Academy of Sciences recommended in January, a dramatic change from what the EPA had originally proposed.

The California Tree Fruit Agreement in Reedley announced a new partnership with the California Pear Advisory Board to share its retail sales representatives for the 2005 season.

Except for a couple of light rain storms expected five to seven days out, a near-record onslaught of rainy weather in Southern California showed promise of coming to an end as what growers hoped would be the last major storms of the season moved out of the state on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

The latest series of storms dumped another eight to 11 inches of water on already soggy soil, causing additional damage to various crops and disrupting both planting and harvesting schedules and bringing rainfall totals year-to-date close to a record.

Growers Express LLC in Salinas, CA, has appointed Victor Feuerstein to the newly created positions of vice president of finance and chief financial officer, effective Feb. 16.

In his new role at Growers Express, Mr. Feuerstein will oversee all financial, accounting and budgeting operations. He will report to Growers Express President Randolph Breschini.