Driscoll strengthens ties with Chilean partners
Driscoll Strawberry Associates has entered into an agreement to increase its investment and shareholdings in Driscoll's of Chile. According to the firm, this increased investment will make Driscoll's of Chile stronger and aligns it more closely with the overall Driscoll's organization.
CCM elects new chairman
Dave Roberts of DCR Co. in Visalia, CA, has been elected the new chairman of California Citrus Mutual's board of directors, a statewide citrus producer's trade association based in Exeter, CA, that represents more than 200,000 acres of citrus farms in California.
San Diego County battles Medflies and other pests
As of Tuesday, Dec. 2, the California Department of Food & Agriculture had established a 107-square-mile quarantine zone in the El Cajon area of San Diego County following the detection of a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation.
As of Wednesday, Dec. 3, 18 wild adult Medflies had been detected at 12 sites in the area, and Medfly larvae had been detected at two sites. In addition to the challenge of combating the Medfly population, San Diego County also is battling Asian citrus psyllid and Diaprepes root weevils that pose a serious threat to agriculture.
Paramount acquiring 1,000 acres from George family
DELANO, CA -- Paramount Citrus will soon add to its 30,000 acres of citrus with the purchase of 1,000 acres the company plans to use for the expansion of its clementine production and growth of the "Cuties" brand of California clementines.
The acquisition from members of the George family of land in eastern Fresno, CA, supports Paramount Citrus' long-term strategy of ensuring that the company meets customer demand, according to Paramount Citrus President David Krause.
Deadline nears for NAM entries
DILLSBURG, PA -- Retailers are proud of the displays that were featured in their produce departments during the fall months of September, October and November, and National Apple Month wants to see the results of each retailer's efforts.
National Apple Month announced the first week of December its final call for entries for the 2008 fall display contests in retail supermarkets and military commissaries. More than 50 winners will be named in the contest with awards ranging from $25 to $1,000 in cash prizes or charitable donations.
New APEAM board names Emiliano Escobedo marketing director
The Avocado Producers & Exporting Packers Association of Michoacan, which represents the avocado industry in the Mexican state of Michoacan and which is better known by the acronym APEAM, has named Emiliano Escobedo director of marketing, reporting directly to the organization's new chairman and board of directors, who were appointed in July and officially inaugurated Nov. 18 by Mexico President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa.
New report outlines progress on Food Protection Plan
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Food & Drug Administration updated its plan for reforming the agency's food-safety program in a Dec. 1 report, but consumer groups criticized the agency for not doing enough to stem the safety problems caused by domestic and imported foods.
Ontario government declares E. coli outbreak over
Although the source was not able to be confirmed, the Ontario government has declared the recent E. coli outbreak in southeastern part of the province over.
Salyer American adds to executive team, moves headquarters to Monterey
Salyer American Fresh Foods Inc. has hired Allan Sabatier as its senior vice president of sales and marketing. He joined the company about a month ago, according to Eric Schwartz, president of Salyer American and chief operations officer for SK Foods Group.
Most recently Mr. Sabatier was executive vice president of sales and marketing for Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac Produce Inc. Previously, he worked for eight years for Monterey, CA-based Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. For five of those years at Dole he worked under Mr. Schwartz as vice president of sales and marketing.
TexaSweet elects board of directors
TexaSweet Citrus Marketing Inc. has elected new officers for the new Texas season. They are Mike Martin, president; Yishai Yeshurun, vice president; and Verle Cray, secretary-treasurer. Other directors are Trent Bishop, Paul Heller, Richard Walsh, Jeff Arnold, Fernando Vieto, Eduardo Carrillo, Dennis Holbrook and Fred Karle.
"One of our goals this season is to reinforce the message that the industry is strong and healthy," Mr. Martin said in a press release. "Through TexaSweet's promotional efforts, we hope to increase our consumer base throughout the season."