The Hass Avocado Board's new marketing committee launched its campaign to strengthen promotion synergy among all suppliers at an inaugural strategy session in late April. Formed in early 2006, the committee has avocado industry representatives from California, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic. "It's imperative that retailers see the entire Hass industry is working together," said Avi Crane, chairman of the committee and importer member of the board. "When retailers are confident about consistent fruit supply, they respond with strong marketing support." Chief among the new

CHICAGO -- In the year-and-a-half since it was launched, avoHQ.com, the Hass Avocado Board's global produce intranet, continues to be a leader in global produce communications. During the United Produce Show, held here May 5-9, the board announced additions to the site that it said will add further functionality to the way data on avocado movement are used. The new "Reports" section of the site enables users to customize their own reports after signing in and selecting a country of origin, a time period or key measures. The section also provides daily, weekly and monthly snapshots of inventory

CHICAGO -- According to Kevin Coupe, consumers are guilty of saying one thing and meaning another, and even worse, often have no idea what they are talking about. In a business session at the United Produce Expo & Conference, here, titled "Speaking the Language of the Consumer," Mr. Coupe, a retail industry expert and owner of the web site MorningNewsBeat.com, gave advice on how best to counter this and deliver what consumers really want. "Americans are the most cash-strapped population in the world," Mr. Coupe said. "Sixty percent of Americans have no money left at the end of the day after

Kent A. Pidduck of Cal Pine Distributors LP in Westlake Village, CA, died April 23. He was 58. The cause of death was still under investigation as of May 10, press time for The Produce News' May 15 issue. Mr. Pidduck was born Dec. 26, 1947 in Ventura, CA, to Art and Frances Pidduck. He lived his entire life in Ventura County, spending his early years on the family farm in Oxnard, CA. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1970 with a degree in ag business. During his senior year at Cal Poly he interned at Sunkist Growers Inc., where he was hired as a full-time staffer after graduation

WASHINGTON -- The draft guidelines designed to boost food safety in the fresh-cut produce industry should apply only to processors, not to retailers and other segments of the produce handling chain, according to the Produce Marketing Association. But the International Fresh-cut Produce Association said that the ever-increasing number of retailers involved in processing fresh produce means that some of the recommendations would apply to them. The Draft Guidance for the Industry: Guide to Minimize Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits and Vegetables is primarily aimed at processors, said IFPA

CHICAGO -- A new tomato has hit the scene, and while its appearance may raise some eyebrows, the variety's marketers believe its flavor will win over the tastebuds of consumers. Dulcinea Farms LLC in Ladera Ranch, CA, and the Oppenheimer Group in Vancouver, BC, have teamed to introduce the Rosso Bruno, a premium vine-fresh tomato with a distinctive brown color. The new variety was on display at the United Produce Show, held here May 5-9. Amy Lazenby, director of new products and innovation for Dulcinea, described the Rosso Bruno as a meaty tomato with both a sweet and tart flavor. It holds up