Baloian Farms, a fourth-generation, vertically integrated family farm based in Fresno, CA, with year-round operations specializing in peppers and mixed vegetables grown in California and Mexico, will introduce a new value-priced consumer pepper pack called "Oddbells." The launch is scheduled for late July.

Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc., headquartered in Oviedo, FL, said that Chef Todd Fisher would be representing Duda Farm Fresh Foods at the Chef Demo Challenge: Healthy & Flavorful Kids’ Menus, at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Exposition in Monterey, CA, according to Nichole Towell, marketing development manager for the Oviedo, FL-headquartered company.

At a time when some other produce companies in Los Angeles have been closing their doors, a new company which called City Ag LLC has opened on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market and is nearing completion of its first year in business.

The California Pear Advisory Board released estimates for the 2012 pear crop, with 3.91 million 36-pound tight fill box equivalents expected for the fresh market. This translates to an estimated 70,404 tons of pears to be marketed.

Faison, NC-based Farm Fresh Produce Inc. hired DIANA RAMIREZ as a sales assistant on May 21.

Star Produce has expanded with a fourth Canadian distribution center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The new facility, named Vega Processing, joins current Star Produce locations in Saskatoon, Calgary, and Burnaby, BC.

The Vega facility is 36,000 square feet of office and warehouse space and includes multiple temperature coolers, a grading and repacking area, and 12 shipping and receiving doors. Vega will handle fruit and vegetable shipments from the eastern United States, eastern Canada, Mexico, South America and South Africa that are destined for the other western provinces.