Crown Jewels Produce Co. in Fresno, CA, which handles a wide assortment of produce out of California and elsewhere, “has been in the cherry business now for at least eight or nine years,” according to Atomic Torosian, a partner in the company. “We don’t have a big presence, but it is a nice presence.”

Fresh Farms in Nogales, AZ, is a major distributor of fresh table grapes from Mexico, and the company’s grape program continues to grow on a steady basis, according to Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing.

The Molina Group in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, which owns Fresh Farms, is one the larger grape growers in Mexico, growing a wide assortment of fresh table grape varieties such as Perlette, Flame, Sugraone, Red Globe, black seedless and Summer Royal.

Chiquita Brands announced the appointment of Rick Frier as the company's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Mr. Frier will be responsible for all aspects of the company's financial operations worldwide. He will assume his new position immediately upon the filing of the company's first quarter financial report and will serve as senior vice president, finance, until that time. He succeeds Brian W. Kocher, who, as previously announced, will become chief operating officer for Chiquita.

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United Supermarkets LLC, which operates 51 stores in 30 cities in Texas, has joined CEV Multimedia Ltd. on an educational video series aimed at teaching young people about nutrition and healthy food choices.

The CEV Family & Consumer Sciences Brand will launch its iCEV online platform this fall, and nutritional education is a crucial component of the curriculum.

The Produce Marketing Association brought its Fresh Connections series to Charlotte earlier this month, where shopping habits of consumers were explored by a capacity crowd of industry professionals.