WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wal-Mart, the National Restaurant Association and U.S. meat associations are the latest to warn that reopening the U.S. tomato agreement with Mexico would lead to unstable tomato supplies, damage other food shipments and hurt consumers, said the Fresh Produce Association of Americas.

The agreement sets a minimum price that Mexican producers/exporters can sell their fresh and chilled tomatoes to eliminate damaging effects of exports on U.S.-grown tomatoes.

With the universal emphasis on healthier eating in all corners of our nation, opportunities are expanding for the fruit and vegetable industry, both in the fresh market and for processing. For the creative marketer, there seems to be no limit to the possibilities.

SUN VALLEY, ID — Travis Blacker, president of the Idaho Grower Shipper Association, will leave his post at the end of September to become industry relations director for the Idaho Potato Commission. The announcement was made Aug. 30 during the 84th annual IGSA convention, here.

The 2012 fall produce season is underway and should be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce available for wholesale and retail purchase. To understand New Jersey's fall season, one needs to take a look at the extraordinary weather that its farmers have had to deal with to produce the fall crops. This is the third season in a row that weather has had a major effect on the season. This season is very similar to two years ago.

Pink Lady America, headquartered in Yakima, WA, announced it is partnering with the Washington State Health Care Authority to promote the Apple Health for Kids program. Marketing Director Alan Taylor said Pink Lady held a special kickoff for the promotion on Aug. 7 at the 4th Street Theatre.

The program, created in 2010 and open for applications in 2011, is designed to provide free healthcare for children in families falling below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and low-premium coverage for families between 201 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty index.

A nutritional bump for back-to-school lunches and snacks and a savings on peanut butter has been combined in a promotion featuring “Trout” label apples from Chelan Fresh Marketing and Jif to Go from Jif peanut butter products.

The promo, which uses Kwik Lok closures to attach 55-cent savings coupons to three- and five-pound bags of apples, is available on 2.5 million bags from Chelan Fresh, according to Mac Riggan, the Chelan, WA-based company’s vice president of marketing.