FRESNO, CA  Z&S Fresh, a broad-line fruit and vegetable grower, shipper, distributor and broker, here, has reached an agreement with General Mills under which Z&S is authorized to ship an expanding assortment of produce items under the "Old El Paso Fresh" brand. The product line will tie in with General Mills' Old El Paso brand used for an assortment of Hispanic items in the grocery department. The Old El Paso Fresh program has actually been in the works for about a year-and-a-half and first went into test market last December with some lemons shipped into Salt Lake City, said Justin

The MushRoom, a portable eatery, will highlight the Dublin, CA-based Mushroom Council's September promotion of National Mushroom Month. This is the first major promotion in the Mushroom Councils return to such efforts since 2000, when a grower sued the council for using funds he contributed for a promotion and won, ceasing the councils authority to run promotions. Subsequent complex legal events reversed that decision in 2005. The suing grower went out of business in the interim. So as of Jan. 1, the Mushroom Council has been back into mushroom promotions. The council hired San Francisco

In a landmark decision following protracted litigation over the Sugraone, a seedless grape variety owned by Sun World International LLC, a federal court judge has found Sun Pacific Farming Cooperative Inc. and related parties liable for fraud and conversion for Sun Pacific's unlawful taking of Sun Worlds property. The court ordered Sun Pacific to stop growing and destroy the Sugraone variety grapevines in question and pay damages of nearly $300,000 to Sun World. The judgment stems from Sun Pacific Farming Cooperative Inc. v. Sun World International Inc. as well as from Sun World International

As the head of the Produce Marketing Association's newly formed education foundation, Cindy Seel will be looking at ways to lure new talent into the produce industry. The new foundation will have two goals. One is to make the produce industry more of an employment choice for young people, said Ms. Seel, who officially started her new job Aug. 14. The other is to service people already working in the industry. Ms. Seel said that PMA has "broken ground" on the first goal, but has yet to tackle workforce development issues. "I do know that as students choose careers, the produce industry is still

Peter Rabbit Farms, based in California's Coachella Valley, has announced the sale of certain assets related to its carrot business to WM. Bolthouse Farms Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, a carrot grower and processor. Founded in 1950, Peter Rabbit Farms is a third-generation, family- owned, grower-packer-shipper-marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. The companies entered into a long-term relationship whereby Peter Rabbit Farms will grow carrots for WM. Bolthouse Farms. "We're in it for the long haul," John Powell Jr., president of Peter Rabbit Farms, said in a release. "This strengthens our

For the fourth year in a row, Consumer Effects Inc. in Sacramento, CA, is partnering with a major retailer, a children's network and multiple shippers to hold a nationwide healthy-eating campaign promoting fresh produce to kids. The Good-to-Grow campaign kicked off in August and will last the entire month featuring point-of-sale material, demonstrations, in- store radio and many other events as it encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables. More than 1,100 SuperValu stores, including Albertson's, Acme, Jewel-Osco and Shaw's, are participating in the promotion. Stephanie Smith