Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer recently appointed three producer members, three alternate producer members, two importer members and two alternate importer members to serve on the Hass Avocado Board.

Reappointed to the board were producer members Ben R. Drake of Temecula, CA, and Kenneth J. Roth of Vista, CA; Kay S. Wild, alternate producer member of Vista, CA; importer members James C. Donovan of Ventura, CA, and Giovanni Cavaletto of Redlands, CA; and alternate importer members Elena H. Garcia of Chandler, AZ, and Pilar Charrada of Los Angeles.

Although the heaviest volume of produce crossing from Mexico into the United States through Nogales, AZ, comes during the winter and early spring primarily out of the state of Sinaloa, the Nogales deal kicks off in earnest in October and November with melons and assorted vegetables from the state of Sonora, which borders Arizona.

NORWALK, CA -- Food safety was the topic of discussion at the Fresh Produce & Floral Council membership luncheon, held here Oct. 1 at the Norwalk Marriott. Neil Checketts, senior director of food safety and food defense for Wal-Mart and the featured speaker at the event, spoke about a myriad of food safety topics that confront retailers, foodservice operators and consumers.

Mr. Checketts first focused upon risk factors for retailers. He said that Wal- Mart founder Sam Walton once said, "The bigger Wal-Mart gets, the more important it is that we think small."

NEW YORK -- Ocean Spray is once again bringing the beauty and the mystique of the cranberry harvest to the public with its "Bogs Across America" tour.

The tour's first stop was Oct. 7-9 at New York City's Rockefeller Center, marking the "Big Apple Bog's" third year at the world-famous location.

Michigan officials delivered some bad news to California leafy green growers Oct. 9 as they said that the E. coli outbreak that appears to have sickened over 40 people in the region is linked to California-grown lettuce.

Based on illness dates, shipping dates and delivery dates, Michigan authorities have narrowed the cause of the outbreak to California lettuce, according to Jennifer Holton, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. State officials are focusing their investigation on Iceberg lettuce shipped during a span of a few days in mid-August.

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Produce Marketing Association announced Oct. 10 changes within its organizational structure to meet the growing needs of members as the industry evolves in a climate of rapid change and fluctuating government regulations.