Los Angeles-based Gourmet Trading Co., which claims to be the largest importer of Peruvian asparagus in the United States, expects retail promotional activities for the item to start taking off as the summer season ends and family meals gradually migrate back to the kitchen. As a cooking vegetable, asparagus tends to be enjoyed more often in the fall and winter months, which coincide well with the peak of the Peruvian deal. Although some importers, including Gourmet Trading, import the product on a year-round basis, shipments peak from September to January. In late August, Brian Miller, the

SaviaGrapes, located in Santiago, Chile, has introduced a new technology to lower shrink by giving grapes longer shelf life. This summer, the company demonstrated its product to leading Chilean grape importers at ports in Wilmington, DE, and Gloucester City, NJ, to show the "new life-extension technology for table grapes." The product is a piece of green plastic that vaguely resembles and is the size of a large thimble. What would be the open end of a thimble is covered except for a slightly expandable hole. Before a grape cluster is cut from the vine, a sucrose, water and chlorine solution is

Western Fresh Marketing in Madera, CA, which handles an assortment of products but is perhaps best known for its fresh figs, kiwifruit and Hawaiian papayas, has added several new items to its product line for the fall season. According to Chris Kragie, deciduous fruit manager, Western Fresh has taken on a large kiwifruit grower in the vicinity of Gridley, CA, which also grows other items that Western Fresh will be marketing, specifically pomegranates and horned melons, also called Kiwano melons. The company also "will have a fall persimmon deal, which is new to us this year," Mr. Kragie said

An organization called Californians Against Hate and several other gay rights groups have called on supporters of gay marriage to protest and boycott carrot giant Wm. Bolthouse Farms Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, because of a political donation made by the Bolthouse Foundation, although both Bolthouse Farms and the Bolthouse Foundation say there is no connection between the two organizations. The Bolthouse Foundation, whose president, William Bolthouse, sold his interest in Bolthouse Farms three years ago, donated $100,000 in March in support of Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that

Lettuce, spinach, green onions, cilantro, tomatoes and peppers are all recent headliners thanks to nationwide outbreaks of foodborne illness. The media- induced frenzy related to incidences of E. coli, hepatitis A and Salmonella is driving the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and state health departments to react to outbreaks at lightning speed -- and by the criticisms of some, with the accuracy and reliability of lightning as well. In their wake, as investigations continue, whole industries suffer and businesses are closing -- a reality not

SUN VALLEY, ID -- Each year, the Idaho Grower Shipper Association convention brings together members of the Idaho potato trade in a relaxed setting that features both social activities as well as educational opportunities and is a highlight of the year for the industry. The event typically sets the stage for the upcoming potato season, as crop forecasts and marketing plans are released. The group's 80th annual convention, held here Aug. 26-29, marked the end of a 28-year run by its president, Dave Smith, who is retiring from the association and will be replaced by Travis Blacker. Throughout