C.H. Robinson to unveil new organic line at Fresh Summit
Minneapolis-based C.H. Robinson Co. is introducing a new line of fresh organic products. "Our World Organics" will debut at the 2007 Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit convention and exposition in Houston.
Melones splits from Chiquita, will market under 'Plain Jane' label
Melones Internacional, whose greenhouse vegetables from Sinaloa, Mexico, were formerly packed in the "Chiquita/ABC" brand and marketed through Chiquita Frupac Inc., are now being packed in a new label, "Plain Jane," just launched by the company.
Melones Internacional, whose founder and chief operating officer is Alejandro Canelos, has corporate headquarters in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and in Phoenix, AZ. Distribution of the products is handled through Apache Produce Co. Inc. in Nogales, AZ, according to a company fact sheet.
New York Bold and Keystone partner on onion program
New York Bold LLC announced a new partnership with Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc. that will bring "America's Cooking Onion" to consumers across America.
Driscoll adds Steve Trede to category management team
Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. has announced that Steve Trede has joined its category management team as category development manager.
Mr. Trede has worked in the produce industry for more than 25 years for companies such as Desert Glory, Del Monte Fresh Produce and the California Strawberry Commission. A food technology graduate of Iowa State University, Mr. Trede most recently worked selling tomatoes for Desert Glory.
Driscoll expects ample supply of strawberries and raspberries
Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. is anticipating a bumper crop of strawberries and raspberries carrying into the fall months.
In strawberries, the abundance is coming from all of the company's growing areas in California. The surge in strawberries includes a big comeback crop in the Watsonville-Salinas and Santa Maria areas, as well as a fall crop in Oxnard, CA, for which volumes will be ramping up soon, said Tim Youmans, Driscoll's national retail sales manager.
Import Safety Working Group shares new vision for policing imports
WASHINGTON -- Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt pointed to his tour of a lettuc-e-processing plant as an example of the life-cycle approach to food safety that should be incorporated in a plan to improve the safety of imports.
At a Sept. 11 press briefing, Mr. Leavitt explained the report's fundamental change in import policing. The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, made up of senior administration officials, forwarded the report to the White House less than two months after it was charged with developing a plan to improve the safety of imports.
CDC concerned with tomatoes after salmonella cases
The new Federal Food Code will change how restaurants handle cut tomatoes in light of recent outbreaks, and a new report finds that tomatoes -- either whole or precut from fields in Florida, Ohio and Virginia -- supplied to restaurants were responsible for the past four salmonella outbreaks.
In 2005 and 2006, four large outbreaks of salmonella infections from eating raw tomatoes at restaurants resulted in 459 culture-confirmed cases of salmonellosis in 21 states, according to a Sept. 7 report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Henry says supplies unaffected by freeze
The late-August arrival of the first charter shipment of Chilean avocados assured Henry Avocado customers that their late summer and fall promotions around the country would not be affected by the widely reported mid-July freeze in Chile.
On hand to inspect the first charter arrival Aug. 30 at the port of Los Angeles, Phil Henry of Henry Avocado Corp. said that while the volume of the Chilean imports would be lower than last year due to the freeze, he expected adequate, promotable volume similar to the 2005 season.
Lone Star Citrus looking forward to bright future
It's been little more than half a year since Lone Star Citrus Growers in Mission, TX, broke ground for its new 120,000-square-foot packing facility, and business partners Jud Flowers, Trent Bishop and T.J. Flowers are really upbeat about future prospects.
Tomato groups hold meetings at Joint Tomato Conference
NAPLES, FL -- Members of the Florida Tomato Exchange and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange met for their annual membership meetings at the Joint Tomato Conference here at the Ritz-Carlton Naples during the morning of Sept. 6.
Attendees of the FTE's meeting were addressed by John Himmelberg of the law firm of O'Connor & Hannan LLP, who discussed pending legislation and other activities in Washington, DC, that affect the produce industry.