NAPLES, FL -- Members of the Florida Tomato Exchange and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange met Sept. 4 for their annual membership meetings at the Joint Tomato Conference, here, at the Ritz-Carlton Naples. Attendees of the FTE's meeting were addressed by John Himmelberg, an attorney with the Washington, DC-based law firm of Roetzel & Andress, who briefed them on lobbying work done on behalf of the industry on country-of- origin labeling, working to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchase fresh tomatoes and the new farm bill, the latter of which enabled the Florida Tomato Committee

WASHINGTON -- United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel urged the Food & Drug Administration to take another look at the science behind the investigation into this summer's Salmonella outbreak with the hopes that tomatoes would be finally cleared as a possible cause. Crowded onto buses and packed into an auditorium, more than 100 attendees of United's Washington Public Policy Conference met with FDA officials to discuss lessons learned from the Salmonella outbreak. Mr. Stenzel said that he doubted that tomatoes were ever responsible for the outbreak and that it was time for FDA to

Chiquita Brands International Inc. dedicated Sept. 10 the James R. Lugg Global Research & Innovation Center in Salinas, CA, affirming the company's commitment to the Salinas Valley. The center is named in honor of Mr. Lugg, Fresh Express' executive vice president for science and quality, and celebrates the contributions of Fresh Express employees to the fresh produce industry. The center also will comprise the company's trial farms, pilot manufacturing plant, consumer test kitchen and a retail merchandising lab where value- added products are created and tested. The "Chiquita" and "Fresh

The Organic Trade Association, in partnership with Diversified Business Communications, announced Aug. 14 that it would co-locate its 2009 All Things Organic Conference & Trade Show with two of Diversified's Cultural Food brand events: Expo Comida Latina and All Asia Food. The event is scheduled for June 16-18, 2009, at McCormick Place in Chicago. David Gagnon, the OTA's interim executive director, said it is an exciting time to be involved in the organic and ethnic and specialty product sectors, particularly as organic and specialty-ethnic foods are the two fastest growing segments of retail

Robert and Helen Strube have established the Bob & Helen Strube Freedom from Hunger Fund to support the Greater Chicago Food Depository's distribution of fresh produce to hungry people. The fund complements the Strube family's commitment to fighting hunger in the Chicago area. Mr. Strube, the former president of Strube Celery & Vegetable Co., established the food depository along with other community leaders in 1978. It distributed more than 46 million pounds of food last year to 500,000 people in Cook County. "Bob and Helen Strube truly are visionaries," Kate Maehr, executive director of the

The California Avocado Commission executed a succession of consumer co- marketing promotions for spring and summer, including a Build a Better Burger program tie-in with Sutter Home wines and a Fiesta de Flavor sweepstakes partnering with Corona beer. Leading off the promotion line-up was the commission's fifth annual tie-in with Sutter Home wines Build a Better Burger promotion. This national campaign, which ran from April through August, featured $50,000 in sweepstakes prizes to encourage consumers to create innovative hamburgers. California avocados were promoted by coupons and offers on