MARGATE, NJ -- Many supermarket executives say that fresh produce is the key part of the store. One prime example of that is found at Casel's Supermarket, which recently enlarged and remodeled its produce department to better showcase fresh fruits and vegetables -- and just in time to feature all the products from its home state of New Jersey. Shoppers find the enhanced produce department, complete with a colorful floral area, immediately to their right as they enter the store. Larger and wider aisles make for easy shopping. When The Produce News visited this upscale store in mid-May in the

Bobby Locke wasn't through writing and singing about fruit when he recorded "Rambutan" more than two years ago. With his recent recording of "The Mango Selling Song," Mr. Locke has leapt to the center stage of fruit songs. To be sure, it's not a crowded stage. Still, if Mr. Locke's lively Calypso-style tune about mangos catches hold, he may be able to ditch his tropical fruit sales gig at Tavilla Sales Co. of Los Angeles. This could be his big break, a la Bobby McFerrin and "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Mr. Locke has had the song copyrighted. Were the song to become a nationally recognized jingle

One does not have to look further than Oviedo, FL, to find a perfect example of a successful multi-generational family in both its business and family relations. That is where the "seeds" for A. Duda & Sons were planted in 1909 when Andrew Duda immigrated from the then-Austro-Hungarian Empire, and where the headquarters of the now multi-faceted organization are today. When he first arrived, Mr. Duda joined fellow immigrants in establishing a small farming community. For several years, he struggled to pay for the 40 acres he had claimed. The family's first cash crop of celery was taken to

CASTROVILLE, CA -- Ocean Mist Farms has announced that George Boutonnet died June 6 at his Salinas, CA, home at the age of 89. In 1939, Mr. Boutonnet started his farming legacy by growing potatoes and rhubarb in Marina, CA. Over the years, he built Boutonnet Farms by growing artichokes, cauliflower, lettuces, broccoli and other mixed vegetables. His son, Ed Boutonnet, joined the family business in 1966. In 1982 Boutonnet Farms became a major shareholder in what is now Ocean Mist Farms. In describing his contribution to the company, Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations at Ocean Mist Farms

Colorful Harvest recently was invited to the Chefs of America Gold Medal Masters of Taste awards in Chicago. This was a one-day meeting and selected product tasting for the top corporate chefs in the country. The event and awards dinner were conducted prior to the National Restaurant Association Conference. The senior chefs from Au Bon Pain, Bahama Breeze, Bertucci's, Capitol Grill, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Cheesecake Factory, Chili's, Club Med, Cosi, Disneyland, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, Holland America Line, Il Fornaio, Iron Skillet, McCormick & Schmick's, Morton's, Olive Garden, Outback

Greenhouse-grown organic tomatoes are next in The Oppenheimer Group's ever-expanding line of products available in completely home compostable packaging. "Tomatoes are among the most popular organic items in the produce section," James Milne, executive director of the Vancouver, BC-based marketer's greenhouse category, said in a statement. "Now discerning consumers can purchase richly flavored organic tomatoes in convenient packs and place all of the packaging into their home compost knowing it will be ready to make a healthy contribution to the garden in 90 days." Oppenheimer was to begin