Not all packinghouses in Idaho run Russet Norkotah potatoes for as long as Pleasant Valley Potato Inc. in Aberdeen, ID. The Norkotah variety harvest starts weeks ahead of the first digs of Idaho’s longtime mainstay variety, the Russet Burbank, giving shippers a head start on the season. But for some shippers, the Burbank is still the dominant variety once it gets going.

Wilcox Fresh in Rexburg, ID, the exclusive marketing company for Floyd Wilcox & Sons Inc., will now be offering its “Potato Jazz” steam kits of fresh baby potatoes with seasoning packs in Canada, but under a different brand name.

“We are partnering with the Little Potato Co.” in Edmondton, Alberta, Canada, and have worked on the Canadian version of “Potato Jazz“ which will be called “Zingers” in Canada, said Jim Richter, executive vice president of sales and marketing.

A.J. Trucco Inc., located on the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, is an importer, wholesaler and distributor of domestic and imported nuts, dried fruit and fresh produce. While the company handles an assortment of dried fruit and nut products, particularly during the fall period leading into the holidays, fresh chestnuts imported from Italy are “most important,” according to Nick Pacia, vice president. “We do big volumes during the holidays.”

Hadley Date Gardens Inc. in Thermal, CA, which markets an assortment of date products in a variety of pack styles, rolled out the first of its square retail tubs “a couple of years ago,” and they are “starting to get a little more attraction now in the market,” Albert Keck, president of the company, said in an interview with The Produce News Aug. 31.

With the 2011 date harvest just getting underway, the square tubs “will be out there on the end caps of produce sections pretty soon,” he said. “This is a beautiful package. It really shows off the quality nicely.”

Setton International Foods, Inc., headquartered in Commack, NY, is a full-service provider of nuts, dried fruit, edible seeds, chocolate and yogurt panned items and candies to the snack industry. The company web site boasts over 1,000 products, some of which are imported from over 20 countries. Setton offers a variety of consumer and bulk packaging for its customers as well as custom packaging options.

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, which is based in California, is one of the larger pistachio processors in the United States.

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, one of the nation’s larger pistachio processors, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony, luncheon and facilities tour Friday, July 15 to formally unveil a recently completed solar power system at its processing facility in Terra Bella, CA. The combined 1.7-megawatt solar power system is believed to be the largest solar power system in California’s Central Valley. The event was announced in a press release dated July 13.