The Arizona Department of Agriculture approved the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Sept. 27 and closed nominations to serve on the Marketing Committee one week later on Thursday, Oct. 4.

Pink Ribbon Produce, a retail program committed to breast cancer prevention and awareness, will return this October for its second year at hundreds of Meijer and Harris Teeter stores. The educational fundraising program, created by Consumer Effects, teams the two grocery store retailers with 21 produce suppliers in an effort to raise support for chapters of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Both Meijer and Harris Teeter will direct shoppers to the participating produce suppliers with a new pink ribbon program icon on posters and point-of-sale wobblers.

An innovative traceback program that provides real-time onion inspection data from Fort Boise Produce Co. has met with enthusiastic support from both the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has approved the program, and U.S. Foodservice, a major buyer of product from the Parma, ID-based grower-shipper.

Each year, visitors walk onto the floor of the annual Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition to view hundreds of exhibitor booths (774 are now booked for the Oct. 12-15 expo in Houston). Many are elaborately designed and decorated with bold graphics, colorful displays, floral arrangements, flowing banners and other unique, eye-catching details.

WASHINGTON -- Food safety may be one of many hot-button issues that could hang up the 2007 farm bill this year as the deadline approaches for the Senate to take up the massive legislation.

At an Oct. 2 press conference, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) criticized language in the House version of the farm bill that would allow state-inspected meat to be shipped across the country. Other issues, such as tougher safety requirements for imports, a new federal fresh produce safety program, and even AgJOBs, could come up.

Sunny Valley Organics Inc. in Nogales, AZ, is introducing a line of organic heirloom tomatoes. Grown in greenhouses in various locations in Mexico, the products will be available year round, according to Miguel Crisantes Sr., the company's owner and general manager.

The product line will consist of large Beefsteak heirloom tomatoes in assorted varieties and colors as well as mini-tomatoes, also in assorted varieties and colors.