COMMERCE CITY, CO — Ringer & Son brokerage, a longtime fruit and vegetable operation in the metropolitan Denver and Rocky Mountain region, has added organic Vidalia onions to its product lineup this season.

“We just ordered our first-ever load of organic Vidalias for Door to Door Organics, a home-delivery service in this area,” Ringer & Son President Joshua Johnson said in mid-May.

Mr. Johnson said that the Vidalias are part of the company’s onion program that also includes storage onions which are currently being shipped out of Washington and Texas.

MONTE VISTA, CO — With the 2010 San Luis Valley potato crop in its last few months of shipments, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee is making plans for the 2011 season with marketing, research and educational programs.

CPAC Executive Director Jim Ehrlich said in mid-May that some shippers in the San Luis Valley are trying to stretch storage volume into July but that demand on an already short crop was increased due to Wisconsin also having short supplies.

To-Jo Mushrooms, based in Avondale, PA, announced that both its packing and processing plants have attained certification under the SQF 2000 Standard at Level 3, the highest level of compliance.

Both To-Jo plants were awarded Excellent ratings by The Steritech Group, a licensed SQF certification body, after scoring over 99 percent on certification audits. The stringent Safe Quality Food standard has been accorded benchmark status by the Global Food Safety Initiative, an international accreditation program.

At the peak of its New Zealand apple season, Giumarra Wenatchee is finding success with its new apple varieties.

In addition to traditional varieties such as Gala and Braeburn, the division offers Tentation, Eve, Divine and Smitten apple varieties, all grown by Heartland Fruit in New Zealand.

This is the fourth season that Giumarra is offering Tentation, a club variety with controlled volume. Tentation is a cross between Golden Delicious and Grifer, with a yellow color and orange blush. It is available June through August.

Hollandia Produce LLC, a grower-shipper of hydroponically grown hothouse produce, has reshaped its “Live Gourmet” living lettuce package to better meet its customers’ needs related to merchandising, physical protection, food safety, sustainability and transportation.

Hollandia’s patented and ultra-modern clamshell, dubbed the “squircle,” enables the Carpinteria, CA-based firm to increase units per pallet by 20 percent, automate much of the packaging processes and reduce the total board feet of cardboard used annually to package and ship its products.

On request from its customers, Riverbend Fresh LLC, in Kerman, CA, switched to organic tomato production three years ago. Dennis Peterson, owner of the company, said it was previously handling conventional heirloom tomatoes.

“Our customers said they could sell more organic,” said Mr. Peterson. “Today our strongest selling organic products, which we will have this year, are cherry heirloom, grape and Roma tomatoes.”