Edge Sales & Marketing, a leading retail broker located in Pleasanton, CA, has hired DIANE KIRKPATRICK as retail operations manager, assisting in the development and execution of retail best practices and go-to-market strategies. She will have direct ongoing communication with the clients and retail partners, and will also follow the company’s business initiatives across all U.S. Safeway banners.

A produce veteran and a newcomer to the agricultural industry have opened a wholesale house on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. The two are also combining their talents, with one being a longtime business owner and the other making his first foray into being a principal. And finally, the duo has another link: one is married to the other’s daughter.

Sun World International LLC, based in Bakersfield, CA, announced the appointment of Claudio Olave to the position of director of quality assurance and food safety.

Since introducing conditioned pears nearly a decade ago, Rainier Fruit Co. in Selah, WA, has seen significant growth in the program and, according to Marketing Director Suzanne Wolter, continues to emphasize the value of conditioned pears at retail.

“That’s where the future is. That’s where the excitement is,” Ms. Wolter told The Produce News. “People want to experience the flavor of pears, and a conditioned d’Anjou is absolutely wonderful — sweet and juicy.”

H. Smith Packing Co. offers something that few other broccoli shippers can lay claim to: complete control of its product from seed to sale.

WASHINGTON — Oregon strawberries sold at roadside stands and tied to a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 cases are raising questions about a decision by Congress to exempt small producers from federal food-safety regulations.

Oregon health investigators traced fresh strawberries to Jaquith Strawberry Farm in Newberg, OR, in the first E. coli outbreak tied to strawberries. At least 10 people became ill last month and one person has died, the Oregon Health Authority said Aug. 10.