MONTEREY, CA -- Should a national fruit and vegetable board be formed, funded by mandatory assessments on producers, to encourage Americans to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables?

If so, who should pay the assessments? How much should the assessments be? How much funding would it really take to move the needle? What are the prospects of obtaining matching funds from government grants? Should the primary objective of such a board be to improve public health or to improve the profitability of the industry?

MONTEREY, CA -- Foodservice sales may be down overall, but some restaurant concepts continue to do well and there are some bright spots, according to Kim Rothstein, a principal in The Hale Group, a strategic consulting firm serving the food and agribusiness industries.

MONTEREY, CA -- It is a given these days that foodservice operators and distributors expect their suppliers to have third-party audited food-safety programs in place, according to several of the participants in a food-safety panel Saturday, July 25, at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference & Exposition, here.

HARTFORD, CT -- To help celebrate National Farmers' Market Week (Aug. 2- 8), Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture F. Philip Prelli invited residents of the state to join him in participating in the first CT Grown Challenge.

Ocean Mist Farms, based in Castroville, CA, has pledged $50,000 to the Produce Marketing Association Foundation for Industry Talent. This funding will support programs designed to broaden awareness about the rewards and opportunities of a career in the produce industry.

Luciano Fiszman is an expert on blueberries. In fact, the 29-year-old agronomy engineer is the expert on blueberries in Argentina for Los Angeles-headquartered Gourmet Trading Co.

Mr. Fiszman began his produce career in 2001 while still a student at the University of Buenos Aires, where he started as a research assistant. "I became a researcher myself in 2004," he said.