The fifth Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class finished an informative 2023 educational program with a robust schedule of events at the New York Produce Show and Conference in New York City Dec. 5-7.

After several years of successful production trials, Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC will be expanding the sourcing of its PureHeart mini seedless watermelon from Guatemala beginning in January 2024 and extending into April. Product shipped will arrive via the West Coast port Hueneme in California, as well as to the East Coast through port Everglades in Florida.

Charles Bracher has informed Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. of his intention to step down as chief financial officer, effective March 1 to pursue another opportunity. Bracher will work closely with Lindsay Gray, who currently serves as senior vice president of accounting (principal accounting officer), through his transition. If a new CFO is not appointed by March 1, the company will appoint Gray to serve as interim CFO until a permanent replacement has been identified.

Continuing to ramp up its volume of the red kiwifruit since bringing it to North America a decade ago, Red Passion, a leading grower, marketer and distributer of fresh produce from around the world, looks toward further expansion of this colorful and flavorful fruit. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses — La Familia Produce, The Avo King and Flagler Palm Coast Farmers Market — for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

At Cambridge Farms, when it comes to the potato market, it is all about the deep and sustained relationships with growers and how they help the company to stand out amongst its competition.