A nice mix of business and social events was enjoyed by roughly 300 people who attended Indianapolis Fruit's 19th annual trade show and golf outing July 24-25 in Indianapolis.

Kicking off the two-day event July 24 were presentations at the Indiana State Museum by Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, and Tonya Antle, vice president of organic sales for Earthbound Farm, a leading distributor of organic produce based in San Juan Bautista, CA.

Salinas, CA-based Classic Salads doesn't yet know what led to a recent sample of the company's product testing positive for Salmonella contamination, but the company is attempting to get to the bottom of the problem.

EATON, CO -- At a time when young people are flocking from rural America to seek their way in concrete urban jungles, 23-year-old Ryan Fagerberg is a young man who's breaking the rules.

Mr. Fagerberg, son of Fagerberg Produce Co. founder Lynn Fagerberg, is quite a chip off the old block. In early July, a little more than seven months following his graduation from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, he found himself happy, contented and thriving in the area he knows like the back of his hand.

CORAL GABLES, FL -- Thousands of mango enthusiasts from around the world converged in Miami July 8-9 for the 14th annual International Mango Festival, co-sponsored by the National Mango Board. This year's event celebrated heirloom mango varieties from Cuba, such as the Toledo and Prieto.

The 2006 California garlic harvest is underway, and at the same time imported garlic from China is beginning to arrive in the market.

"This year, the [California] crop looks pretty good," said Louis Hymel of Spice World, which is headquartered in Orlando, FL, and has garlic growing and packing operations in California's San Joaquin Valley. "We started packing just a little later this year than what we normally do, but we expect about a 10 percent increase" in volume.