U.S. and foreign food companies will have one more month, until Jan. 31, 2013, to renew facility registration with the Food & Drug Administration, the agency announced Dec. 12.

Food facilities that manufacture, process, pack and store food and feed are required by the new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act to renew their registration by Dec. 31, 2012, and every two years after that. Most farms, restaurants and retail establishments are exempted, although certain activities can trigger registration.

The acreage of melons being grown in southern Mexico by MAS Melons & Grapes LLC in Nogales, AZ, for the winter season will be a little higher this year than it was the last two years, according to Miguel Suarez, the company’s managing partner and sales manager.

Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager for Giorgio Fresh Co., headquartered in Temple, PA, said that the company offers special holiday packs of stuffer mushrooms that sell extremely well during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Easter.

Two well-known Florida citrus growers are launching a branded tangerine product aimed at getting healthy snacks to children while saving an endangered species.

Lake Wales growers Vic Story and Marty McKenna have created the "Legend of Sun Lion Florida Tangerines" brand for the 2012-13 season. The new venture is pledging 10 percent of company net profits to Florida panther conservation efforts.

Domex Superfresh Growers lent a helping hand at the 108th annual meeting of the Washington State Horticultural Association, which was recently held in Yakima, WA, Dec. 3-5. It provided speakers and panelists for four of the education programs in addition to sponsoring the social and cocktail hour Monday evening and the cherry educational session on Wednesday morning.

"MamaMia Produce has a new state-of-the-art bagging machine, and retailers are liking it a lot," Joe Sferrazza, sales manager for the East Rutherford, NJ-based company, told The Produce News Dec. 11. "We have had it running for about two weeks, and we could not be more pleased with how it has already increased our efficiencies and volumes."

The bagging machine, he added, took the company about a year to find because they wanted it to specifically match its product line of avocados and citrus. And it is in keeping with the growing consumer demand for bagged items.