No sooner had the potato industry emerged  victorious and vindicated  from the attack of the now-discredited anti-carb diets than it came under attack from yet another quarter: this time a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer against nine manufacturers of potato chips and french fries.

Dan Gaspar has joined Domex in Yakima, WA, as its new head of quality assurance and safety.

He brings more than 27 years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to the Domex team as it continues to evolve.

In his new role, Mr. Gaspar will be charged with keeping Domex on the forefront of such food-safety programs as Eurogap, SQF, HACCP and global traceability.

CORAL GABLES, FL  Uniban SA, a top banana and plantain export company in Colombia, and Fyffes PLC, a leading fruit and vegetable distributing company in Europe, have entered into a strategic alliance under which Fyffes will assume a 50 percent ownership in Turbana Corp., the Coral Gables, FL-based marketing subsidiary of Uniban SA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service announced Sept. 30 that Mexican government officials had signed an agreement to allow the importation of Hass avocados from California under certain conditions.

Coalinga, CA-based Harris Farms Inc. was issued a permanent injunction Sept. 30 barring the company from retaliating against any person who reports or testifies about sexual harassment. The injunction also orders specific relief to prevent possible future discrimination.

In January, a Fresno, CA, jury unanimously found Harris Farms liable for sexual harassment, retaliation and the constructive termination of farm worker Olivia Tamayo, and returned a $994,000 verdict in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ms. Tamayo.

Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms has begun shipping its iceless broccoli with the patented StePac system.

The main benefits of the system are its capabilities in cooling and reducing moisture loss, said Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Ocean Mist.

He said that the system would improve Ocean Mist's year-round iceless broccoli program "for the customers that are accustomed to our rigid quality standards that we strictly adhere to with our artichoke and full vegetable product line."