CIW-McDonald's agreement draws strong reaction from Florida tomato industry
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and McDonald's USA joined together April 9 at the Carter Center in Atlanta to announce an agreement wherein beginning with the 2007 Florida tomato season production, McDonald's will pay CIW one penny per pound for Florida tomatoes that it purchases for its 13,000 U.S. restaurants. The money will be designated to farmworker needs.
PMA launches on-line produce library, I Know Produce
The Produce Marketing Association's new on-line produce library, I Know Produce, is now available to subscribers.
I Know Produce is a web-based application designed to simplify training and produce ordering for retailers and foodservice buyers, and to help menu developers better understand the nutritional values of produce.
Bees could cause seedy situation in California Mandarin groves
Honeybees are usually considered welcome in fruit orchards. But their presence in Mandarin groves is a serious problem, according to Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual in Exeter, CA, a trade association representing the growers of more than 120,000 acres of citrus.
Clementines, Murcotts and other Mandarin varieties, which have been planted in increasing numbers in California in recent years, are popular not only because they are tasty and easy to peel, but also because they are seedless -- that is to say the marketplace expects them to be seedless.
Festival a growing success for Hood River
The Hood River Valley is awash with blooming fruit trees, and to celebrate the role that agriculture plays in the region, Genevieve Scholl-Erdmann, marketing director for the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce, said visitors can expect the 53rd annual Hood River Valley Blossom Festival to be spectacular. The event takes place April 21-22.
"[The festival] celebrates the agricultural way of life," she told The Produce News, adding that approximately 18,000 people attended last year's event.
California and Florida legislatures respond to recent outbreaks
State legislatures in California and Florida are considering sweeping new laws for produce in the wake of recent outbreaks, but tomato and leafy green growers are asking for different fixes.
While the produce industry responded to the E. coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens produced in the Salinas Valley with a marketing agreement, California Sen. Dean Florez (D) is pushing for state-enforced food-safety measures through legislation.
Investment firm partners with Ready Pac
In a move designed to infuse capital into the company, Ready Pac Foods Inc. in Irwindale, CA, has partnered with Bayside Capital, a private equity firm.
Ready Pac Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Craig Delaney would not reveal the size of the deal but said that the investment Bayside has made in the privately held produce company will "position us to continue to grow our business" and take it to the next level.
WGA to open office in Washington, DC
Western Growers Association, based in Irvine, CA, will open a Washington, DC, office April 30 that will be staffed by Executive Vice President Matt McInerney on a temporary basis while a full-time federal government affairs staff is being hired.
Barry Hirsch dies suddenly at age 50
Barry Hirsch, one of the owners of Kleiman & Hochberg Inc., a wholesale produce distributor at the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, died Tuesday evening, April 10, after suffering a massive heart attack.
Mr. Hirsch, 50, had been at a local gym and was returning to his home in Old Tappan, NJ, when he felt the onset of chest pains, according to family members. He was taken to nearby Englewood (NJ) Hospital, where he died.
Center for Produce Safety launched at UC-Davis
On April 11, representatives from leading produce trade associations and the California Department of Food & Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura announced plans to create a Center for Produce Safety at the University of California-Davis.
The center will be housed at UC Davis' Western Institute for Food Safety & Security, which has a mission is to conduct research that enhances the safety and security of the nation's food supply.
Easter weekend freeze devastates southeastern crops
An Easter weekend freeze devastated fruit crops from Georgia to West Virginia. There may be damage farther north, but time will probably show that growers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York state didn't sustain major crop damage.
Peach grower Cline Cash of Cash Farms Inc. in Cowpens, SC, told The Produce News April 11 that for several hours on the morning of April 7, the temperature was 24 degrees at his 100-acre peach farm. "It was pretty much a 100 percent loss. We'll wait until next year and hope for better weather."