Mike Blume, sales representative for Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc., headquartered in Greencastle, PA, said that the company is exhibiting at the Southern Exposure Retail & Foodservice Conference & Expo being held this year at the Caribe Royale Resort & Conference Center in Orlando, FL, on Feb. 28-March 2.

Ed Bertaud, the Houston-based director of business development for the Pallet Management Division of IFCO Systems N.A. Inc. and chairman of the Texas International Produce Association, will be the recipient of the second annual Rising Star Award, which will be presented by The Produce News at the America Trades Produce conference, scheduled for March 6-8 in McAllen, TX.

This summer, WP Rawl will host a three-day camp for 12 Katie’s Krops grant recipients from all across the country at WP Rawl’s headquarters Pelion, SC. Every child that has received a grant from Katie’s Krops, a non-profit focused on empowering kids to plant vegetable gardens and donate the harvest to the underserved in their communities, is eligible to apply for a spot at the first-ever Katie’s Camp.

WASHINGTON — The Food & Drug Administration plans to inspect U.S. cantaloupe packinghouses during the 2013 growing season to make sure the industry is preventing Listeria and Salmonella contamination in the wake of recent outbreaks, the FDA said in a Feb. 25 letter to the industry.

N2N Global, a world leader in business solutions to companies operating in the food industry, announced that Craig Stephen has accepted an offer to join the company as chief strategy officer and member of the board of directors.

Mr. Stephen brings 30 years of experience in developing growth and profitability strategies for global businesses. Prior to joining N2N Global, he spent 22 years at Chiquita Brands International Inc.

For a new company to survive its first 10 years in business in the Nogales produce industry is not an easy task, observed Jose Luis Obregon, president of IPR Fresh, which was founded initially as a brokerage in 2003.

IPR has continued to grow its business, and “we have a steady plan of growth” for the future. It is “nothing too outrageous,” he said, but “we want to continue steady growth which hopefully will keep us here for the long term.”