The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. sold its 236 Canadian stores to the Quebec-based Metro Inc. retail operation this week in a move that was apparently very well received by the U.S. business community.

In Canadian dollars, the deal was announced at $1.7 billion: $1.2 billion Canadian in cash and $500 million Canadian in stock. The infusion of cash will help A&P retire much of its U.S. debt and refurbish many of its stores.

BC Hot House Foods Inc. in Surrey, British Columbia, announced July 20 the resignation of David R. Smith as president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Smith contributed three years to BC Hot House, in which time he focused on building and strengthenin g grower relations, acquiring year-round critical mass necessary to service a consolidated customer base, providing customers superior logistics and customer service and differentiating BC Hot House in the industry as a full product line greenhouse p roducer.

As quality assurance manager for Salinas, CA-based Mills Family Farms' Wholeaves program, 25-year-old Kari Scheidhauer shoulders a lot of responsibility.

"The ax falls on me" in the event of food-safety problems, Ms. Scheidhauer said. Still, she's grateful for the opportunity and feels that she's making a contribution to the program.

FRESNO, CA -- An extended heat wave in the Central Valley, which began June 30 and continued with a string of triple-digit temperatures through most of the month, has affected various crops currently being harvested in the valley. The nature of the effect differs with the type of crop.

With tomatoes, for example, the immediate effect appears to have been minor, but the heat caused a bloom drop that could reduce yields in four to six weeks.

Putting together an annual event such as the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference in Monterey, CA, is akin to putting on a Super Bowl halftime show: Each successive show must attempt to outdo the previous one.

Unlike the Super Bowl, PMA's plans did not call for a provocative clothing mishap a la Janet Jackson. Still, more of what draws people to the show was planned for this year, said Lorna Christie, senior vice president of PMA.

Growers and packers from the Washington & Oregon United Potato Growers Cooperative and the United of Idaho Potato Growers Cooperative met in Pasco, WA, recently to discuss the upcoming summer potato harvest and marketing period.

At the meeting, it was agreed that all three states must work together to market the crop in an orderly fashion and to assure the growers a fair market price for their potatoes.

The group met under the umbrella of the Capper Volstead Act, which allows growers and shippers to meet and discuss marketing, pricing and supply.