Westfalia Fruit is among the world’s leading suppliers of fresh avocados and has maintained a consistent supply of quality avocados for more than 75 years and plans to do so for generations to come. 

“To do this, Westfalia utilizes a diverse supply chain for avocados in multiple continents across the globe, including Peru, allowing access to fruit during uncertain times no matter the preferred region,” said Raina Nelson, president and CEO of Westfalia Fruit Marketing USA.

What started small has now grown into a major apple breeding program that is bringing a lot of attention, as well as sales and profits, to many New York state apple growers.

A little more than a decade ago, a small group of growers in the Empire State formed Crunch Time Apple Growers for the purpose of growing and marketing apples developed by the apple breeding program at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.   

Northeast Grocery Inc., the parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Friendly Markets, is expanding its partnership with Instacart. The two chains will leverage the Instacart Platform to introduce new e-commerce capabilities and launch a new retail media network using Instacart’s Carrot Ads solution.

Calavo Growers Inc. is anticipating excellent supplies of avocados from Peru this summer, peaking in July and August with arrivals lasting well into September. The September arrivals are expected to allow for distribution of Peruvian avocados in the U.S. market into October.

“We have seen some arrivals already,” said Peter Shore, vice president, product management for Calavo Grown Sales, which is based in Santa Paula, CA. “We have programs set up for the season for retail and foodservice customers.”

Seattle, WA-based Strella BioTechnology is not in the business of wasting time — or food for that matter. In fact, the startling statistics surrounding food waste inspired 26-year-old Katherine Sizov to start the company five years ago while she was still in college.

“There’s no guardian angel to watch over produce,” Sizov told The Produce News. “It’s like a hot potato — passed from one person to the next. There’s no one saying, ‘are we making the best decision on behalf of the apple?’”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed an administrative complaint against American Fruit & Produce Corp. for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Florida, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to eighteen produce sellers in the amount of $1.03 million from March 2018 through October 2022.