Kirk Wilson, the newly appointed regional sales manager for Country Fresh Mushroom Co. headquartered in Toughkenamon, PA, said the company has continued its efforts to provide its partners with the freshest product and innovative packaging.

“Whether it is our soon-to-be unveiled environmentally friendly packaging, or our convenient ‘Personal Portion Portabella,’ we encourage all visitors to the PMA [Produce Marketing Association] Fresh Summit to look for these and other exciting items at the Country Fresh booth, number 1607,” Wilson said.

Gonzalo Avila, previously vice president and general manager of Malena Produce Inc. in Nogales, AZ, has been named chief executive officer.

Never have there been so many choices in the produce aisle. New pack sizes, new varieties and fresh cuts have multiplied. With many available in both conventional and organic labels, it’s a good time to sort through what “organic” and “natural” mean, and their continuing marketing implications.

River Ranch Fresh Foods, a grower-shipper-processor of fresh vegetables based in Salinas, CA, will cease operations, effective Nov. 8.

With its second season winding down, Peppadew Gold peppers, produced by Peppadew Fresh LLC in Morganville, NJ, are poised to see an increase in production in the Garden State, with a future goal of expanding to other growing districts.

Pierre Crawley, managing director of the company, said the affiliation with the "Jersey Fresh" program and the Shop Rite supermarket chain, owned by Wakefern Food Corp. in Elizabeth, NJ, has been a great boost to the product this year.

Harris Teeter Supermarkets announced that Harris Teeter's shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the previously announced agreement and plan of merger, dated July 8, among Harris Teeter, Hornet Acquisition Inc. and The Kroger Co.

Approximately 98.6 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the merger agreement, representing approximately 82.5 percent of Harris Teeter's outstanding common stock as of Aug. 22, 2013, the record date for the special meeting.