ANAHEIM, CA -- With speakers on both sides of the issue, the concept of a generic national fruit and vegetable promotion campaign was debated during a workshop held during the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, held here Oct. 2-5.

The amount of money being proposed for this effort appeared to be the hot topic of conversation during the so-called town hall meeting, which took place Oct. 3.

Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of Dole Food Co., announced a new long- term contract with CHEP, a leading pallet and container pooling company, that calls for Dole to continue shipping the majority of its products on Chep pallets from its 12 facilities in California, Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio to major supermarket retailers, clubstores, foodservice distributors and wholesalers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

ANAHEIM, CA -- Looking to inject some innovation into a category that has been devoid of any significant advancements for years, Del Monte Fresh Produce unveiled a new technology that it believes will improve banana consumption and sales.

Del Monte officials held a press conference Oct. 3 prior to the opening of the 2009 Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit exposition to announce the launch of its proprietary Controlled Ripening Technology, or CRT.

ANAHEIM, CA -- The Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, held here Oct. 2-5, attracted a record crowd of 19,070 attendees, and the organization announced that PMA Australia-New Zealand officially began operations Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON -- Leanne Skelton, a 22-year veteran with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service's Fresh Products Branch, will be moving to the Food & Drug Administration for six months to help the agency write produce-safety regulations.

A familiar face to the fresh produce industry, Ms. Skelton is chief of the Fresh Products Branch, which provides fee-based auditing, inspection and grade certification services for fresh fruits and vegetables.

ANAHEIM, CA -- Two well-known politicos from opposite presidential camps in 2008 addressed the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition Oct. 2-5, but politics wasn't top of mind.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the keynote speaker at the opening general session Oct. 2, while President Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, did the keynote honors at the Oct. 4 general session.