The consumer press has labeled it a "food fight," but produce industry representatives say there is no fundamental disagreement about regulations concerning the allocation of federally funded specialty crop block grants.

CHICAGO -- The Food Marketing Institute is considering a number of changes to its annual supermarket show, which is currently held every year in early May here at McCormick Place -- and which for the last three years has included the annual convention of the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association.

FMI announced in a May 6 statement "consideration of the board's Long Range Planning Committee recommendation that the FMI show shift to an alternating format and rotating venues beginning in 2008."

With people getting ready to fire up their grills during the summer barbecue season, mushroom producers are preparing for the spike in popularity of their already-popular products that comes during this time of year. In preparation, some of the top marketers are launching new varieties and products that they hope will help increase their own sales as well as lift the category as a whole. What is good for one competitor is good for the whole mushroom category, according to Joe Caldwell, vice president of Watsonville, CA-based Monterey Mushrooms.

CHICAGO -- Eleven retail produce managers were front and center to answer questions about what makes their departments successful and to share stories about their customers' behavior during an education session held here May 6 at the United Produce Expo & Conference. The session was moderated by Steve Lutz of the Perishables Group.

Mr. Lutz noted that the panel, all winners of United's Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, were selected from nominations submitted from across the country and are among the better produce managers in the United States.

SALINAS, CA -- The push for immigration reform has taken center stage on the U.S. national scene, and all that activity suggests a political willpower to make reform happen.

That was the message -- with qualifications and some reservations -- expressed by Howard Rosenberg, cooperative extension specialist in agricultural labor management for the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California at Berkeley.

The Hass Avocado Board's new marketing committee launched its campaign to strengthen promotion synergy among all suppliers at an inaugural strategy session in late April. Formed in early 2006, the committee has avocado industry representatives from California, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic.