MONTEREY, CA -- California Sen. Abel Maldonado, who's family runs a farm in Santa Maria, CA, told an audience of agricultural leaders and local and state officials that a joint effort is required to pass effective food-safety legislation.

The March 19 event was held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Monterey County Agricultural Education hosted the event as part of National Agriculture Week.

OAKLAND, CA -- The first public hearing convened by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration since the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with fresh spinach in September offered little new information about the outbreak more than six months ago, but it furthered the food-safety discussion among many of the usual industry representatives.

VISALIA, CA -- In the wake of a prolonged and widespread freeze in January that devastated an estimated 70 percent of the remaining California winter citrus crop still on the trees, the California citrus industry has done an admirable job of protecting its reputation for quality by keeping freeze- damaged fruit off the market, according to several speakers and panelists at California Citrus Mutual's California Citrus Showcase held here on Thursday, March 8.

At a board meeting Thursday, March 15, the California Avocado Commission "voted unanimously to take aggressive action against the importation of Mexican avocados with dangerous scale pests coming into California," according to a March 16 commission memo to the industry.

BASILICATA, ITALY -- Produce professionals from around the world kept busy at the workshop and mission in Basilicata, Italy, in mid-January (see The Produce News, Feb. 5). If the nearly non-stop wave of Italian food and wine weren't enough to keep their minds on what the region has to offer, the extensive field, packing and distribution facility, and greenhouse tours were filling their days full of details on which to concentrate.