The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has just released its long-awaited guidelines for the fresh-cut produce industry, which appear to mirror the industry's own food-safety control measures, according to the International Fresh-cut Produce Association. "Fresh-cut produce is the fastest-growing sector of the fresh produce industry. This document should help to improve safety by providing clearer guidance on how to reduce health hazards that are potentially introduced during the production process," Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said in a statement March 1 when releasing the

Canadian officials eased import requirements for Mexican cantaloupes in another sign that governments are embracing Mexico's certification program. Mexican cantaloupes were linked to illnesses in Canada during 2001 and 2002, which prompted the U.S. and Canadian governments to ban cantaloupes from the lucrative markets. In response to both import alerts, the Mexican government developed a Cantaloupe Certification Program based on Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices. Since then, no Mexican cantaloupes have been found contaminated with Salmonella and none have caused a

Those going to the Southeast Produce Council's 2006 Retail & Foodservice Conference can look forward to a keynote address from a national produce association president, two seminars directly targeting the needs of retailers and foodservice personnel, field tours to two of the regions top grower-shippers, an expo with more than 130 exhibit booths, and social events including an opening party, a closing reception and a golf tournament at one of the premier courses in the South. Any with the expected retail and foodservice attendance up by 35 percent over last years conference, Terry Vorhees

Three produce suppliers began shipping radio frequency identification-tagged cases to Publix supermarkets in a pilot program that will test the web-based tracking system and involve nearly 300 stores across Florida. "We're excited by the results so far," said Maria Brous, media and community relations director for Publix Super Markets Inc. We started reading RFID shipments in late January. So far, Publix has read over 600 tagged cases of celery, cauliflower and pineapple, which are being shipped to nearly 300 stores, said Ms. Brous. Publix operates 875 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia

In four to six months the St. Louis Produce Market will have closed deals to expand by about 25 acres. Clarence Hughes, St. Louis market manager, said Feb. 8 that the market will purchase eight to 10 acres adjacent to the north side of the market, and will lease another 15 acres adjacent to the east side of the facility. The new properties come from the city, private owners and the railroad, so "this was very complex. It was not a simple thing to get done," Mr. Hughes said. This deal has been in the works since 1993, Mr. Hughes said, adding that he had been working on it since July 2005. The

A year after the U.S. Department of Justice cleared the actions of the Eastern Mushroom Marketing Council in Wayne, PA, the group was hit by a new series of class-action suits. The suits were filed in mid-February in the U.S. District Court Eastern District, Pennsylvania, according to Jack Crooks, chief executive officer of the council. The suits claim that actions taken by the defendants artificially raised mushroom prices in 2001. Mr. Crooks, who joined the council staff on June 20, said that the council was first challenged for buying mushroom facilities earlier this decade. The council