Joe Caldwell, vice president of Monterey Mushrooms Inc. in Watsonville, CA, is also the current chairperson for The Mushroom Council, the mushroom industry’s research and promotion group supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, PA, told The Produce News that the company would once again participate in The National Mushroom Council’s “Go Pink” promotion.

“The effort benefits the City of Hope, a leading cancer research treatment and education center, to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Mr. Donovan. “In October, Phillips Mushroom Farms will pack eight-ounce mushrooms in pink trays with special pink labels. The Mushroom Council makes a sizeable donation to the City of Hope during the campaign.”

“To-Jo has recently introduced a new product: Traditional Mushroom Sautee with Butter, Salt and Pepper,” Paul Frederic, senior vice president of sales and marketing for To-Jo Fresh Mushrooms Inc., in Avondale, PA, told The Produce News. “It is a microwaveable mushroom product in retail-size packs. The new item contains seven ounces of sliced mushrooms that are ready to put directly into a microwave oven. All-natural seasonings and herbs are added to the pre-cleaned mushrooms. Users simply microwave for just under four minutes for fully prepared mushrooms in a delicious sauce.”

Sambrailo Packaging, headquartered in Salinas, CA, has developed a pint-sized clamshell that is especially compatible with the high-speed machinery used to pack small-sized tomatoes for retail display.

“We are focused on off-the-vine cherry and cocktail type tomatoes,” said Jim Scattini, vice president of sales and marketing for the firm.

Going back to its roots in Italy, J. Marchini Farms, which is headquartered in Le Grand, CA, is now marketing an heirloom plum tomato variety as a sauce tomato for both the retail and foodservice trades. The company offers the product in fresh form for about six weeks in late summer and also freezes the whole tomatoes for distribution throughout the year.

Eclipse Berry Farm is not a misnomer. The Southern California grower-shipper, with its farm in Ventura County and its sales office in Los Angeles, is primarily a strawberry operation.

“That makes up 90 or 95 percent of our business,” says Rick Hearst, longtime salesperson for the company. “But our grape tomato program is a nice little deal for us.” And it’s on the rise.

Mr. Hearst explained that fellow salesperson Stuart Gilfenbain, son of the owner, Norman Gilfenbain, “got a Florida grape tomato deal many years ago, and that got us started.”