In an effort to curb the gunnysacking of tomatoes, the California Department of Food & Agriculture has issued new standards requiring each container of fresh-market tomatoes to include a grower name and lot number. In addition, stricter packing standards have been issued regarding the appearance of the tomato in a carton or box. Ed Beckman, president of the California Tomato Commission in Fresno, said that the issue arose two years ago when it was discovered that numerous tomatoes grown and packed for a processor were ending up in fresh-market channels. It has been somewhat of an open secret

Goodness Greeness, a Chicago-based distributor of organic produce, recently established the area's first all-organic foodservice division. Items currently include a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables, and organic and grass-fed dairy. In the past, the company's produce had been available to restaurants through brokers. This new division is dedicated solely to the direct sales, service and distribution of organic produce to the foodservice industry. The company is initially focusing on white tablecloth restaurants with plans to expand service to the greater foodservice industry in the

Los Angeles-based Giumarra Cos. and New Zealand-based Luv'ya Apple Co. have combined efforts to focus on a flavor-based apple program. "Eve is a delicious improvement versus standard Braeburn and even the other high-color Braeburn strains," Tom Richardson, manager of Giumarra's Wenatchee division, said in a statement. "It has that tangy Braeburn flavor, but being sweeter, it is more suitable to the North American taste preference." The drive to improve apple taste is taking place down under, where two of America's favorite apple varieties -- the Braeburn and the Gala -- were created. New

For years, the California Tomato Commission and others have urged retailers, foodservice operators and end users to refrain from cooling tomatoes. "Don't Refrigerate Tomatoes," screamed the refrigerator magnet that the commission distributed. While that advice has not been abandoned, the new Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain specifically draws attention to temperature control as an area of concern. Ed Beckman, president of the commission and a founder of the North American Tomato Trade Work Group, which released the document, told The Produce News May

All of Safeway's nearly 1,800 stores will be converted to the chain's Lifestyle format by the end of 2009, Safeway Chief Executive Officer Steve Burd promised at the annual shareholders meeting held May 25. Mr. Burd said that the Lifestyle stores have been very successful and have registered sales gains 23 percent higher than remodeled Safeway stores in past years. The company has spent $2.6 billion on the program in the past two years, converting 550 stores. Another $1.6 billion has been allocated this year, at which point more than one-third of the stores should feature the new format. The

Lompoc, CA-based Baroda Farms recently completed a 4,200- square-foot laboratory for artichoke research and plant tissue culturing. Baroda Farms -- a leading perennial artichoke developer in the United States -- has been growing quality produce, including artichokes, on the Central Coast for more than 20 years. Among the artichokes it has brought to market are Big Heart, Lyon, Feisole and Campania. Feeling the need to have control of the breeding process, Steve Jordan, president and owner of Baroda Farms, and his wife, Trish, broke ground on the laboratory on Nov. 28. They had been renting lab