The Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Pecans, also known as the Georgia Pecan Commission, announced the establishment of the Center for Pecan Innovation to find new uses for pecans.

Kingston Fresh announced the addition of Chilean grapes to its growing imports portfolio. The Idaho Falls, ID-based company is scheduled to receive its first arrivals in early February into the Philadelphia ports, which positions it to service key customers on the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest markets.

“We have a great group of highly talented people here, and they keep their finger pressed tightly on the pulse of what’s going on when it comes to supplies,” Mike Badalament, sales associate for Ram Produce Distributors LLC, located at the Detroit Terminal Market, told The Produce News in mid-January. “When there are problems in Florida, California or any other areas we source from, we’re fully in the know and take the necessary steps to insure that we have high-quality product for our customers.”

Christopher Ranch, a name known for high-quality garlic and other specialty products, is a family-owned-and-operated grower, packer, marketer and shipper that was founded over 50 years in Gilroy, CA. In 1997 the company introduced its organic line.

Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing for the company, said the strongest selling products in its organics line are garlic in bulk and peeled form.

Steve Circle, sales director at Sunrise Growers Inc. in Placentia, CA, will be leaving Sunrise and joining Main Street Produce Inc. in Santa Maria as director of strawberry marketing and sales. "He is going to work here starting in February," Main Street's President Paul Allen told The Produce News.

Two new lettuce varieties from Mann Packing Co. — Scarlett Butter and Honey Gems — are selling well and were served in the hospitality suites at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, during the Super Bowl.