At Rene Produce LLC in Nogales, AZ, “we have really taken food safety extremely seriously, because we want to make sure that our customers and the consumers feel comfortable with our products,” said Mark Cassius, vice president of sales and marketing. “We take a lot of pride in what we have done” and have always tried “to take a step ahead, before it became a requirement.”

Food safety is “always a concern,” and customers expect it, he said. But “we don’t necessarily have those conversations day-to-day” because people know that “we have taken a leadership role in the industry.”

Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States announced its donation of salad bars to seven public schools in Washington, DC, in Wards 7 and 8. The donation was announced at an event at Burrville Elementary School.

Kaiser Permanente's donation builds on its commitment to improving the health and wellness of children in Wards 7 and 8 communities and supports Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools. The salad bars will benefit 2,300 students by increasing their access to fresh fruits and vegetables at school lunch.

Citrus growers in California's San Joaquin Valley were prepared last night for subfreezing temperatures, which fell to predicted lows within the citrus-producing areas of Kern, Tulare, and Fresno counties.

Growers starting running water as early as last weekend to saturate the ground in preparation for this cold snap, which is expected to continue through Saturday morning. In most areas warmer ground temperatures added extra crop protection, allowing wind machines to create an inversion layer and raise grove temperatures above critical levels.

Industry comment is currently being solicited to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating four organizations representing Washington's tree fruit industry.

"The public comment period will end on Jan. 10," West Mathison, an at-large member of the consolidation task force told The Produce News Dec. 5. "We [are looking] for phone, email and face-to-face comments."

While all Florida citrus growers have had to battle greening disease over the past decade with shrinking annual production, some are finding a way to take a tough situation and turn it just peachy.

Greening (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB) affects production in bearing groves, and the only solution for a severely infected grove is destruction. Florida has lost thousands of acres of citrus groves over the past decade — prime agricultural land sitting fallow.

Epic Produce Sales, based in Phoenix, added PETER JURADO to its sales team.

At Epic Produce, Jurado specializes in product for export and handles all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the United States.