The Michigan Apple Committee’s Healthy Living program — a great fit for consumers who will use the new year as an opportunity to commit to a healthier lifestyle — aims to educate consumers about the health benefits of eating Michigan apples on a regular basis.

The program will run from January through March everywhere Michigan apples are sold, and it will feature a sweepstakes where consumers have the chance to win one of three treadmills.

A holiday promotion from Avocados From Mexico, which started in November and runs through Jan. 3, is going exceptionally well and there has been much interest in the organization's next major promotion, which starts late December and runs through February, Maggie Bezart Hall, vice president of trade and marketing, told The Produce News Dec.. 20.

In Texas, cowboys do not retire — they ride off into the sunset. John McClung, president and chief executive officer of the Texas International Produce Association since 1999 and a former United Fresh and national government official, recently packed his saddlebags and has officially turned over the reins of TIPA to Bret Erickson, who had already been serving in that capacity for the past year-plus.

Farmer’s Best International, based in Nogales, AZ, added RUBEN PENUNURI to its sales team on Nov. 11.

Lisa Inc. in Nogales, AZ, and the company’s growers in Mexico, put a lot of emphasis on food safety and related issues, according to Abraham Chavez Lichter, financial manager, who has been with the company for eight years.

“There are a lot of issues, and we are working on them,” he said. Currently “we have food-safety certification, food-security certification and traceback capability.”

Ciruli Bros. LLC in Nogales, AZ, has increased plantings of hot peppers in Los Mochis in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, but has held steady on other commodities, according to Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer.

The company is optimistically looking for a good season, he said, partly due to apparent improvements in the economic climate. “The stock market is doing better,” and the employment outlook is trending favorably, “so hopefully disposable income for people to shop more is out there.”