RIVERHEAD, NY -- To say that Lauren Keenan is an animal lover would be an understatement. While most 26-year-olds would probably choose to take a week's vacation sitting on a beach or partying in Florida or Mexico, Ms. Keenan drove to New Orleans last October to help rescue and take care of animals that were left homeless and ownerless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Keenan, a sales representative for Fresh from the Start LLC, a division of ADS Management LLC, here, said that after hearing the news that people had stopped coming down to help with the enormous number of animals that were

The U.S. Navy is hoping this January to outfit ships with a packaging technology that would boost the shelf life of fresh produce to save the military from wasting millions of dollars on spoiled fruits and vegetables. The Navy has been testing Apio Inc.'s BreatheWay, a proprietary membrane technology that provides an optimal atmosphere within the package to extend shelf life and preserve the freshness of the produce. Although the Navy tested other technologies, this one is simple because it does not introduce chemicals or gasses on board ships, according to Deborah Sisson of the U.S

Thanks to favorable peach growing weather, New Jersey is projecting an excellent crop of yellow peaches, white peaches and nectarines. New Jersey's crop enjoyed a winter with near perfect chill hours and a very favorable spring with just the right amount of rain. In anticipation of a full crop, growers did heavy thinning to increase size. Fruit quality appears to be outstanding. Just like last year, sizing will be very good. In 2006, New Jersey's peach volume is expected to see a slight increase even over last year's large crop. With quality, sizing and volume all looking good, New Jersey

ROTTERDAM, NY -- Imagine a 110-story building and an 18-story building lying on their sides perpendicular to each other. This might give some idea of the sheer size of the new produce freight consolidation facility that Railex LLC, a division of ADS Management, is building here. Construction is right on track on the 200,000-square-foot, state-of- the art transload facility, which Paul Esposito, Railex's general manager, expects to be completed in mid-September. The facility will receive a unit train from the company's other new facility that is also under construction in Wallula, WA. "We

"We have witnessed tremendous growth in our marketplace in the past three to five years," said Pete Piazza, president of Piazza Produce in Indianapolis. "The city has grown by leaps and bounds, and restaurants are opening at a proportionate rate." Mr. Piazza is one of five owners of IF&P Foods Inc., also in Indianapolis, which is the parent company of Indianapolis Fruit Co. and Piazza Produce Inc. Although the two firms are sister companies, they are operated independently. Piazza is a distributor to the foodservice sector, and Indianapolis Fruit handles retail. Garden Cut Fresh Products is

NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association announced July 17 its 2006-07 Foodservice Board of Directors during the PMA Foodservice Conference & Exposition, July 14-16, in Monterey, CA. Foodservice board Chairman Mikel Weber, vice president of Eastern operations for Golden Corral Corp. in Raleigh, NC, is supported by 16 directors. Board members are: -- Mark Austin, vice president of Hardie's Fruit & Vegetable Co. LP in Dallas. -- Leonard Batti, vice president of production and processing for NewStar Fresh Foods in Salinas, CA. -- Steve Bleecker, senior corporate manager of sourcing and