Following an announcement from Taco Bell Corp. of a preliminary and inconclusive test for E.coli O157:H7 on green onions, Ready Pac announced that it has taken immediate precautionary measures to protect public health. "Even though the test results are not confirmed, we have taken every prudent precaution and immediately stopped production and shipments of all green onions," Steve Dickstein, vice president of marketing for Ready Pac, said in a Dec. 6 statement. Green onions are produced only in a limited production run exclusively for Taco Bell in one section of Ready Pac's Florence, NJ, plant

GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemalan foliage grower-exporter Alfredo Miron may be best known in the U.S. produce and floral industries for being, in the 1990s, the first international member on the board of the Newark, DE-based Produce Marketing Association. Mr. Miron is also known as one of Central America's larger grower-exporters of leather leaf through his firm Corporaci?n Tak S.A. But by the end of next year, Mr. Miron may also be known as the vice president of Guatemala. He is the running mate of "lvaro Colom, who is the frontrunner in the September 2007 Guatemala presidential election. Mr

On Nov. 24, for the first time ever, a container of greenhouse tomatoes was exported from Central America to the United States, according to Francisco Viteri, president of Agropecuaria Popoy?n S.A. and La Carreta in Guatemala City. The first container was produced at Chirioj Farm in San Raymundo, Guatemala, and packed at La Carreta Farm's packing facility in El Jocotillo, Guatemala. The receiving importer in the United States was Del Monte Fresh Produce in Coral Gables, FL, according to Mr. Viteri. "We have come a long way," he told The Produce News Nov. 29. "Looking back five years, a group

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association issued a press release Nov. 29 to the trade advising that Charles F. (Chip) Hinton's employment as executive director of the association was to be discontinued effective Nov. 30. Companies contacted by The Produce News in early December said that word had not yet reached them as to why the 24-year relationship had ended, but all agreed that it was sudden and unexpected. The association's press release stated that due to current and future challenges facing the strawberry community, the board of directors unanimously determined in late November that it

Steve Peirce, founder of Avocado Marketing Services Inc. and for the last 11 years a consultant to the California Avocado Commission, died suddenly Wednesday, Nov. 22, of a heart attack at his home in Lake Elsinore, CA. He was 55 years old. Born in Madison, WI, in 1950, Mr. Peirce began working in the California avocado industry in the 1970s. He worked for Cal Flavor and Sun World before being hired by Calavo in the mid-1980s. He became Calavo's lead field representative before leaving the company in 1994 to start his own consulting business, Avocado Marketing Services Inc., with his wife

Park City Group Inc. in Park City, UT, a leading provider of inventory and labor optimization solutions for retailers, has announced that Earthbound Farm has joined its roster of customers. Earthbound Farm, a leading provider of organic produce and specialty salads, becomes Park City Group's newest Supply Chain Profit Link customer. Earthbound Farm will utilize Park City Group's Supply Chain Profit Link analytic tools and professional consulting services to enhance its already successful relationships with retail grocers. Earthbound Farm expects the Park City Group solution to help it provide