Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, was elected chairman of the Produce for Better Health Foundation's board of trustees at its 2006 annual meeting earlier this month in San Francisco. Ms. DeLyser most recently served as vice chairman of the organization.

The board of trustees recognized the service of outgoing 2005 Chairman of the Board David Parker, director of marketing for Fruit Patch Sales in Dinuba, CA, who remains on the executive committee as immediate past chairman.

WASHINGTON -- The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association and the International Fresh-cut Produce Association announced April 19 that they will pool their resources and merge thir organizations to become the United Fresh Produce Association by the end of the year.

The new marriage reflects a consolidating industry, stepped up food-safety pressures and the ever-increasing blurred line between processing and other sectors of the supply chain.

With the rapid growth of organic sales in supermarkets, retailers need more information about the category. In grand style, Indianapolis Fruit Co. in Indianapolis is answering many of the questions.

On April 24-25 the produce distributor will host 200 industry members for a sophisticated, invitation-only seminar titled "Winning at Retail: Developing Organics as a Strategic Point of Difference."

WASHINGTON -- The leadership of the International Fresh-cut Produce Association and the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association announced April 19 their intent to combine forces to deliver the highest possible level of value to members and meet today's critical challenges facing the fresh produce industry.

Joneen Jackson, a product manager at Dayka & Hackett LLC in Reedley, CA, is leading a double life.

A swim instructor and coach, Ms. Jackson is also a farmer's daughter who has found the perfect means of balancing her two passions in life. "You can't keep me out of the water and you can't keep me away from produce," she said.

A stock dividend payment has financial experts predicting a merger between The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. in Montvale, NJ, and Pathmark Stores Inc. in Carteret, NJ. But retail produce industry experts don't see the possible marriage as a good fit.

A spokesman for Pathmark told The Produce News, "There is nothing I can or will say about that. We don't comment on rumors." Efforts to reach a spokesman for A&P were unsuccessful.