The leafy greens fields of California’s Salinas Valley were visited by government officials charged with oversight and implementation of new food-safety regulations and by two members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

On Aug. 25, at the invitation of California Congressman Sam Farr, Congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia made his first visit to the Salinas Valley and toured the "salad bowl of the world" for the first time. Rep. Kingston chairs the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee. Rep. Farr is the ranking member on the same committee.

Exports of onions from Peru continue to grow. According to the Society of External Commerce of Peru, export volume showed a 22 percent gain in the first quarter of 2012 when compared to the same window in 2011. The value of Peruvian onion exports for this period was $5.5 million. According to the website, www.agraria.pe, the value of fresh onion exports in 2011 for the same quarter was $4.4 million. Growth in 2012 was attributed to increased onion consumption in Colombia, the United States, Panama and the Netherlands.

Daytona Beach, FL-based Dade Service Corp. announced that GREG SCHLAFFER has been named project manager. In his new position, Mr. Schlaffer will be responsible for overseeing the construction phase for many of the company’s future distribution facilities and ripening room projects, according to a company press release.

On Aug. 23, David Weinstein, sales manager for Heath & Lejeune Inc. in Los Angeles, told The Produce News that the company is moving to a new, cutting-edge facility over the Labor Day weekend. The new facility is only 10 minutes away from its original location.

"Our old facility is 17,000-square-feet with six loading docks and between 8,000 and 9,000 square feet of cooler space," said Mr. Weinstein. "The new facility is 43,000 square feet, it has 18 loading docks — providing us with an unbroken cold chain — and it has 15,000 square feet of cooler space."

San Francisco-based Veritable Vegetable Inc. is one of the longest-running organic produce distributors in the United States. "We have operated since 1974, and we have always focused on organic fruits and vegetables," said Karen Salinger, co-owner of Veritable Vegetable.

Roger Pepperl, director of marketing for Stemilt Growers Inc. in Wenatchee, WA, said there’s a catch phrase in Washington that may describe the dynamics of the coming apple season. “Big crops get bigger. Small crops get smaller,” he told The Produce News on Aug. 20. Hard data about the impact of a July 20 hailstorm and other weather-related events in Washington will not be determined until later in the season. But Mr. Pepperl said the numbers have begun trending upward, and this is a hopeful sign.