“Exports are huge in the potato industry,” said Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission, in a presentation made to the membership of the Idaho Grower Shipper Association in Sun Valley, ID, Aug. 29. “Total U.S. fresh potato exports are now 900 million pounds, and growing at a rate of 17 percent, and we have been part of that.”

WASHINGTON — A top FDA official assured the produce industry Thursday that the agency will take a look at changing how it deploys resources at the border after Produce Marketing Association's Jim Gorny raised the question of whether there would be less testing and sampling at border crossings once the Food Safety Modernization Act rules go into effect.

The 2012-13 marketing year saw major gains for promotions of Idaho potatoes in the foodservice sector, according to Don Odiorne, Idaho Potato Commission vice president of foodservice.

The actual number of promotions written was about the same as for the prior year, he said, but the level of participation was unprecedented. “We had participation from a lot more units than we ever had before. We put an offer out there, and they are taking advantage of it.” As a result, “We had tremendous success.”

Winners of the National Mango Board's third Mango Mania Display Contest for small retailers with up to 50 stores have been announced and will be awarded for their creativity in building the best, most beautiful mango displays in this year's competition.

The display contest resulted in a 273 percent mango volume increase amongst participating stores compared to the same time last year.

Now in its third year, this annual contest is designed to engage and reward smaller retailers by encouraging them to build big, beautiful mango displays.

Even though it is moving from the mountains of North Carolina to the beaches of South Carolina for its annual fall conference, the Southeast Produce Council is cruising at high altitude as it prepares for the Sept. 26-28 meeting at the Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, SC.

The organization has grown steadily — and remarkably — since its founding in 1999. SPC has become a powerhouse regional organization that helps shape policy and provides substantial return on investment to its more than 800 members.

He started his working life as a bottle boy at a retailer in the Midwest all those years ago. When he decided that the time was right to retire from the industry and company he loved, he was East Coast-import procurement manager at Supervalu, one of the larger grocery wholesalers and retailers in the United States.