In the aftermath of a tumultuous past several months for the fresh produce industry that shook consumer confidence due to E. coli contamination in spinach and a false alarm of harmful E. coli in leafy greens, growers generally seem to have taken a conservative approach to their acreage planted in the western U.S. desert regions. Add to the mix a rough season in the desert last year with sluggish markets and labor shortages, and growers are not laying bets that salad days have returned. Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms grows the majority of its winter crops in California's Coachella

The new Spanish clementine season is underway, and early season quality is said to surpass that of last season. Among the primary importers of Spanish clementines is Seald Sweet International LLC in Vero Beach. Bill Weyland, Seald Sweet's director of imports, said Nov. 11, "The season has started off in general with quality better than last year. The import volume arriving prior to Thanksgiving is similar to last year, or maybe down 5 to 10 percent. As an industry we have struggled with size," which he noted "peaked early in the season on 32s. We know this particular size has limited outlets

SALINAS, CA -- Indianapolis-based Imagination Farms has partnered with Church Bros. LLC and True Leaf Farms LLC, both located here, to further consumption of fresh produce by children. Church Bros. will supply Imagination's "Disney Garden" line with commodity vegetables from its operations, while True Leaf will supply "Disney Garden" bagged vegetables, bagged salads and unique vegetable products designed for children. Full-line vegetable grower-shipper Church Bros. is the exclusive sales agent for True Leaf Farms. Tom Church, president of Church Bros., said that Church Bros. likely will begin

Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. announced the formation of a new European berry company that will be the largest fresh berry company in Europe and the second-largest fresh berry company in the world next to Driscoll. The new company joins Driscoll with two long-standing partners: KG Growers and Alconeras. "All three parties share common values, successful business practices and family-oriented approaches to local farming," J. Miles Reiter, Driscoll's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. The new company will be uniquely positioned with superior

The tide has turned in the produce industry's Bronx turf battle. On Nov. 9, a five-judge panel in the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, reversed a May 15 decision in favor of the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association. Inc. In the spring, New York state Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings ruled in no uncertain terms that in the fall of 2005, New York City was unfair in putting out a bid for the warehouse property next to the Hunts Point market. This fall, the Appellate Court was equally thorough in contradicting the findings of Judge Billings

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