More than 5,000 cartons of cantaloupes were shipped back to Costa Rica Feb. 2, resulting in a total loss because the pallets they were shipped on were not certified as pest- free. The rejection was the first known case involving Phase 2 of the new standard for Imported Wood Packaging Material, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service and enforced by the Department of Homeland Security and its Customs & Border Protection Department. APHIS published the final rule last year and included a phased-in enforcement period. During Phase 1 -- Sept. 16

Fyffes PLC, based in Dublin, Ireland, announced Feb. 7 that it has acquired 60 percent of Nolem, which is Brazil's largest melon producer and exporter. Nolem owns 5,000 hectares of Brazilian farmland and markets 9 million boxes of melons per year. The business will continue to be managed by Andre, Marcelo and Eduardo Gadelha. The Gadelha family will own 20 percent of the company.

For those who are eager to share berry important information, Watsonville, CA-based California Giant has added its own Cal Giant berry blog to its web site. The blog is just one new element in the company's effort to offer useful, timely and new information for visitors to its web site (www.calgiant.com). Cal Giant has added health and nutrition pages to its site and soon will have a virtual strawberry photo tour that starts with planting and ends with shipments on their way to retail outlets across the country. This new element is a result of consumer inquiries asking how strawberries are

Mark Overbay, manager of communications for United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association in Washington has resigned from the association. His last day was Friday, Feb. 17. Mr. Overbay, who joined the association in July 2004, "has played an important role in United's communications efforts for the past several years," United said in a statement. "For personal reasons, Mark is moving out of the Washington, DC, area, and will therefore be resigning his position." Amy Philpott, United's vice president of marketing and industry relations, told The Produce News that Mr. Overbay is moving to North

Pressure is on grower-shippers to find solutions for radio frequency identification device tagging, and the Produce Marketing Association hopes that a new effort to create a central database to share the latest information will help. The biggest challenge for radio frequency identification devices is to find ways for them to work at the pallet level, said PMA's Gary Fleming. "There's a lot of misconceptions] out there." While some retailers are directing all pallets and cases be tagged, the reality is that passive RFID does not well on pallets because they are too weak to read. The system can

Updated product tags and boxes featuring a new design for Maui Pineapple Co.'s extra sweet Maui Gold Pineapple hit grocery stores in January. "The new product packaging better reflects Maui Pineapple's authentic Hawaiian heritage and values, and helps bring the magic of Maui to our customers on the mainland," Howard Nager, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement. "This is the first step in a new direction for Maui Pineapple Company," added Mr. Nager. "It illustrates how we will work hand-in-hand with our sister company, The Kapalua Land Company, integrating agriculture, wise