Ernesto Velez, a giant figure in the Colombian floral industry, died Sunday, March 21, of pancreatic cancer. He was 71 years old.

The owner of Suasque, a flower farm near Bogotá, which he founded with his wife, Lucie de Velez, in 1980, Mr. Velez had been president of the board of directors for Asocolflores, the Colombian grower association, for the past seven years. Memorial services were held March 23 in Bogotá.

Taylor Farms has increased its financial commitment to the Produce for Better Health Foundation with a $250,000 pledge over the next five years. Taylor Farms joins other long-time major annual contributors such as Paramount Farms, Stemilt Growers and Syngenta, which have been at or above the $50,000 level for several years.

WASHINGTON -- The United Fresh Produce Association will launch a new on- line media website, www.UnitedFresh.TV, with the first live interactive webcast targeted to produce marketers and retailers from the floor of its annual convention in Las Vegas, NV.

DENVER -- The U.S. Potato Board announced March 19 that Don Ladhoff will lead the retail efforts of its domestic marketing program. He will provide key input to strategy and guide the tactical execution of the program, with the goal of increasing demand for potatoes in the retail environment.

"I'm pleased Don has joined our team," Kathleen Triou, the board's vice president of domestic marketing, said in a March 19 press release. "He brings considerable experience and enthusiasm to the position, and he'll be ready to contribute from day one."

A study conducted by University of California Los Angeles researchers and published recently in the Journal of Medicinal Food further indicates the prevalence of antioxidants in strawberries and subsequent health benefits from eating strawberries.

According to the study, 21 healthy women ate about one-half pound of frozen strawberries daily for three weeks. Several measures of antioxidant capacity in the blood were taken.

Eating strawberries resulted in an increase in the body's ability to prevent the oxidation of blood lipids such as LDL cholesterol.

HLB Tropical Food USA Inc. is using a recent study by the University of Florida to promote the health benefits of papayas.

HLB, which is based in Plantation, FL, and is among the bigger U.S. importers of Brazilian papayas, is citing a study published March 9 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology titled "Aqueous extract of Carica papaya leaves exhibit anti-tumor activity and immunomodulatory effects" to raise the awareness of the fruit's health benefits, specifically the cancer-fighting properties of papaya leaves.