On Dec. 17, Fred Hess, co-owner of Hess Bros. Fruit Co. in Lancaster, PA, told The Produce News that the company’s crop condition at the current time was basically where he expected it to be.

“We still have quite a lot of fruit to get through,” said Hess. “We will pack all through the summer, which is exactly what we like to do. We’ll be packing this crop right up until we start harvesting the next one.”

Wonderful Pistachios announced that Stephen Colbert, Emmy Award-winning host and executive producer of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," will star in two Super Bowl spots for the nation's leading pistachio grower. This will be Wonderful Pistachios' second consecutive Super Bowl appearance and will kick-off a new, full-year agreement with Colbert under the campaign theme, "Get Crackin', America."

Hiram Folds, founder of Atlanta-based produce distributor General Produce Inc., died Jan. 5 of undisclosed causes. He was 84.

Mr. Folds came up in hard times in Depression-era Milstead, GA. He lost his father at an early age and went to work part time on the Atlanta State Farmers Market, loading trucks and cutting bananas for the Georgia-Tennessee Produce Co. at 50 cents an hour.

United Fresh has opened the nomination period for the 2014 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards program, which honors the foodservice industry’s most innovative produce performers.

The program, sponsored by PRO*ACT LLC since its launch in 2008, has honored more than 30 different chefs and foodservice operators for their exceptional work in incorporating fresh produce in menu development, proper food safety and handling, engaging in community outreach and building an overall positive dining experience with fresh produce as a centerpiece.

The WhiteWave Foods Co., a leading consumer packaged food and beverage company in North America and Europe, completed its previously announced acquisition of Earthbound Farm for approximately $600 million in cash.

Gourmet Trading Co., a distributor of fresh asparagus and blueberries, is moving its Los Angeles headquarters and warehouse to a newly renovated 53,000-square-foot facility located in Redondo Beach, CA.

The company looks forward to continuing to provide its customers with high-quality fresh green, white and purple asparagus, and blueberries from the new location with expanded loading capacity, advanced precooling infrastructure and the addition of clean rooms for future value-added programs.