“As Florida’s fall produce season kicks into high gear, our new cold storage warehouse facility, CrowleyFresh, in Miami is busy handling an influx of locally grown seedless melons and other seasonal perishables,” said Eduardo Campos, the director of logistics for CrowleyFresh.

CrowleyFresh opened in Miami in early 2013. It is a joint offering by Crowley Maritime Corp., headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, and Customized Brokers, a customs brokerage company also located in Miami.

Consumers are getting more exploratory in the produce department, and this is good news for Brooks Tropicals LLC, headquartered in Homestead, FL. “North American consumers are adventuresome,” said Director of Marketing Mary Ostlund. “They love a frontier. And in the produce section, tropicals are the new frontier. [This is] particularly important with everyone upping the amount of fruit and veggies they’re eating. They want to eat more of the produce they love. But they want to be tempted to love more.”

It was just about four years ago that the partners in Greengate Fresh LLC in Salinas, CA, filed their incorporation papers and began to put their business plan in action. By April of 2010, the firm was selling bags of lettuce and other staple commodities to the foodservice industry.

“From the very beginning we put our focus on the foodservice or hospitality industry and that is still the major portion of our business,” said Jay Iverson, vice president of sales and marketing for the firm. “We do a little bit of club store business, but basically we stick to foodservice customers.”

Kathy Hearl, marketing promotions manager for DNE World Fruit Sales, said consumers can expect to see top-quality Florida fresh citrus in the produce department this season. “The eating quality has been very good,” she told The Produce News. “We are seeing higher Brix levels this season, and the fruit is shaping up nicely. The packouts have been higher than last season.”

Although fruit is showing some evidence of wind scarring on the outside, Hearl said this does not affect the eating quality of the fruit.

Arizona officials say tainted lettuce supplied by Midwest Beef and served at a Federico's Mexican Restaurant may be the most likely source that caused 94 people to become ill from E. coli in July.

William Marler, a Seattle attorney who represents victims of foodborne outbreaks, circulated the 32-page, Nov. 25 report by Maricopa County Department of Public Health on his blog.

Senior executives from all segments of the global produce and floral supply chain are invited to profit from the leadership-level strategic discussion of industry issues and challenges scheduled to take place during the 2014 Executive Leadership Symposium Jan. 15-17 in Orlando, FL.