HOUSTON -- During the Produce Marketing Association's 2007 International Convention & Exposition, here, the 2007-08 PMA board of directors took office Thursday, Oct. 11. Chairman of the Board Bruce Taylor, chairman and chief executive officer of Taylor Farms California Inc. in Salinas, CA, is joined by three other officers and 23 directors. "We are fortunate to have Bruce's experience and dedication harnessed to lead our 2007-08 board of directors," PMA President Bryan Silbermann said in an Oct. 12 statement.

The Produce Marketing Association, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association plan to form a joint Produce Traceability Initiative to drive broad adoption of consistent traceability best practices throughout the produce supply chain.

FreshSense, a newly formed tree fruit marketing entity based in Parlier, CA, announced that it has received nearly $300,000 in federal grant funds to help fund start-up of the firm's new eco-labeled stone fruit product to be marketed under the brand name "Zeal."

Jim Desiderio is always thinking about the future.

The vice president of sales for James Desiderio Inc., the company founded by his grandfather in Buffalo, NY, and one of the larger wholesalers in western New York, said that the firm has now settled into the first floor of the new three-story, 18,000-square-foot office building it moved into at the end of July.

The second and third floors will remain empty for now, but they will give the family-owned-and-operated company room for future growth, both literally and figuratively.

Brad and Todd Hirasuna are brothers working together at Sunnyside Packing in Selma, CA, a company that was founded by their grandfather in 1948 as a strawberry exchange.

Brad, 27 and a resident of Fresno, CA, graduated from the University of California-Los Angeles in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and received his master's degree two years later in that discipline from the same institution.

Todd, 24, is a 2005 graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with a bachelor's degree in agribusiness. He lives in Reedley.

Branding has become the social phenomenon of the day, and the produce industry is certainly no stranger to this ever-broadening trend. But what does branding mean for the produce industry? Can you brand broccoli, lettuce or eggplant?

Looking at other brands like Campbell's Soup ("MMMMMM Good!"), Nike ("Just do it!") and Volvo ("Powered by Perceptions"), it's the promise and the keyword ownership that are the essence of the brand - the promise to be Campbell Soup "wholesome," Nike "inspired" and Volvo "safe."