Bruce Klein, director of marketing for Secaucus, NJ-based Maurice A. Auerbach, said that business at the foodservice level is picking up with the uptick in the economy this year, and that’s good for the specialty category because chefs are always looking for new and interesting items.

“Specialty produce continues to be a growing category because the new items now being introduced are unusually special,” he said. “They are offbeat and different from items we have seen in the past.

Jim Scattini, vice president of sales and marketing for Sambrailo Packaging in Watsonville, CA, said the company continues to innovate to meet the demands of California’s blueberry industry.

Curry & Co., headquartered in Brooks, OR, has been in the California blueberry deal for around six years. Vice President of Berry Sales Mike Klackle said production conditions have been favorable this season, and he anticipates a slight increase in berry volume when compared to last year. “I’m looking forward to a good season,” he told The Produce News April 16. “We have had adequate water and adequate sunshine.”

Gourmet Trading’s production acreage is located at the southern end of California’s San Joaqu

CALGARY, AB — BCfresh, a network of growers located in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, touted its grower families at the recent Canadian Produce Marketing Association convention and trade show, here.

Apio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Landec Corp. and a leading producer of fresh-cut vegetable products, announced the acquisition of GreenLine Foods from The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm. GreenLine Foods is a leading processor and marketer of value-added, fresh-cut green beans in North America.