LOS ANGELES  The annual Fresh Produce & Floral Council Market Festival was held Wednesday Oct. 12 on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, here. The event, which began at 5 a.m. and included a buffet breakfast along with table-top exhibits, was well attended by numerous retailers, wholesalers and other prominent produce industry representatives. Display sponsors were the California Strawberry Commission, Chilean Avocado Importers Association, City of Hope, Pear Bureau Northwest, Pomegranate Council, TexaSweet Citrus Marketing Inc., TRT Floral Co. and the United Agricultural Benefit Trust

Grower-shipper George Sadoian of Sadoian Bros. in Dinuba, CA, died Oct. 6. He was 89. A former chairman of both the California Grape & Tree Fruit League and the California Table Grape Commission, Mr. Sadoian was a well-known figure in the fresh fruit industry. He was born in Lynn, MA, and moved to California, where his father bought a 40-acre fig and grape ranch in Dinuba, in 1920. As a teenager in the 1930s, Mr. Sadoian and his younger brothers worked shipping fresh figs to the East Coast. He graduated from Orosi High School in 1936 and attended Fresno State College, graduating in 1940 with a

Oxnard, CA-based Gills Onions, a leading processor of fresh red and yellow onions, has converted its retail line of fresh onion products from zip-lock bags into clamshell packaging with resealable lids. The newly launched product line features breathable under- film technology to lock in freshness while sealing in onion aroma. Included in the product line are 10-ounce diced yellow or red onions, eight-ounce sliced yellow or red onions and a 10-ounce celery and onion diced mix. Nelia Alamo, director of sales and marketing for Gills Onions, said that all five items were developed to capture the

Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce has completed negotiations to build a Mission Ripe Center in Seattle, scheduled to come on-line in late March. Mission Ripe Center in Seattle will be more than 20,000 square feet and will house high-tech equipment and ripening rooms similar to those found in Mission's other facilities. The facility will have a staff of 25 people to run the operation and will service Washington, Oregon and western Canada. The state-of-the-art avocado-ripening facility will complete Missions goal of putting in place a national distribution network where avocados are received

SALINAS, CA  Fresh Express, based here, has introduced "Baby Blends," a first-ever line in the industry's fresh- cut category. According to the company, the blends of lettuces and greens in the new baby segment are harvested when theyre at the peak of tenderness, color and nutrition and feature distinct flavors and contrasting textures. A Fresh Express press release heralds the lines tender whole leaf salads featuring early-harvest versions of lettuces and greens, and its fresh new flavors, optimum nutrition and ready-to-eat convenience, and points to benefits to retailers in

In addition to killing more than 1,000 Guatemalans, Hurricane Stan inflicted a great deal of damage to the country's produce exports when it hit Oct. 4-5, according to Martin Maldonado, a native Guatemalan and an importer for Team Produce International Inc. in Miami. Mr. Maldonado told The Produce News Oct. 11 that up to 80 percent of the blackberries, baby vegetables, sno peas and snap beans will be affected by the storm. Virtually all exports of these fresh products were halted the week of Oct. 10. Some resumption would begin around Oct. 21, he said. Guatemala suffered damage to coffee