Norcross, GA-based RockTenn, one of North America’s leading vertically integrated packaging manufacturers, has introduced a pair of products that can provide produce shippers substantial savings on materials and freight, as well as allow for better packouts and more product per pallet.

LUCIA IONE SPAGNOLA, the first child for Whitney Spagnola, marketing leader at Blue Book Services in Carol Stream, IL, and her husband, Eric, was born May 31 at Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, IL, weighing seven pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 20.25 inches long.

The 2012-13 Mexican avocado program at Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, CA, will differ from that of 2011-12 in basically just one regard, and that is continued growth, according to Ross Wileman, vice president of sales and marketing.

The Hass Avocado Board in Irvine, CA, which represents all avocados marketed in the United States regardless of source, has taken a new direction in its focus this year, described by Emiliano Escobedo, executive director, as “a single-minded nutrition marketing and research strategy that leverages category resources and nutrition science to drive avocado consumption in the United States.”

McALLEN, TX — A plan to change how millions of boxes of mangos are treated for the Mexican fruit fly and bacterial contaminants could be a boon for the Rio Grande Valley’s growing produce industry.

Attorneys representing dozens of produce companies reached a settlement agreement in the Adams Produce LLC bankruptcy case, paying the PACA claimants approxiamtely 80 cents on the dollar. The agreement was approved Oct. 23 by the U.S. Bankrutpcy Court.

Adams Produce, which was headquartered in Birmingham, AL, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings this past spring. At the time, there was close to an estimated $12 million in produce debt. The original settlement negotiations conducted by some of the larger creditors led to challenges and this revised settlement.