Congregants at this year's 30th annual conference of American Agri-Women, held the weekend of Nov. 12 in Monterey, CA, heard much about changing trends in food at retail and in foodservice. Roberta Cook, marketing economist with the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics with the University of California at Davis, touched on numerous trends in a power- point presentation, which relied heavily on data from Food Marketing Institute as well as other sources. The following are highlights from her talk: Surveys show that having high-quality fruits and vegetables rate highest among

For the second time in six weeks, Taiwan's Bureau of Animal & Plant Health Inspection & Quarantine has detected a codling moth larva in apples shipped from Washington state. While all U.S. growers and shippers other than those involved with the detection remain eligible for export to Taiwan, the so-called "second strike" moves the industry closer to a possible closure of the Asian market, which could occur should a third detection be made. The latest detection was made Nov. 18; the first of the season came Oct. 7. Both shipments originated in Washington, according to Washington Apple

The Ontario Produce Marketing Association held its annual gala dinner and awards ceremony Nov. 12 at the DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel in Toronto. Almost 400 people attended the event and were treated to an evening of fun, food and excitement, as well as industry tributes during the group's 10th annual awards ceremony. A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement award to Gerard (Whitey) Van Alebeek of Bradford & District Produce Ltd. Steve Stewart, a long time associate of Mr. Van Alebeek, presented the award. Mr. Van Alebeek's career started at the age

Guadalupe, CA-based grower-shipper Beachside Produce LLC and Santa Maria, CA-based Main Street Produce Inc. have struck an agreement whereby Beachside began marketing Main Street's vegetable products Nov. 9. Main Street Produce, a longtime grower-shipper of broccoli, bell peppers and strawberries in the Santa Maria Valley, will continue to market its own strawberry crops. Paul Allen, chief executive officer of Main Street Produce Inc., said, "The union will allow Main Street Produce and Beachside Produce to target their marketing efforts, allowing both to better serve our customer base and

Florida Citrus Mutual, headquartered in Lakeland, FL, organized and hosted the second International Citrus Canker & Greening Research Workshop Nov. 7-11 in Orlando, FL. The meeting assembled international researchers who have specific expertise on canker and greening to discuss the current status of knowledge and to extract information relative to the ongoing situation in Florida. Andy LaVigne, FCM's executive vice president and CEO, said the group made significant progress during the meeting toward better understanding greening and how it must be addressed in the future. "We also gained

Naples, FL-based Global Berry Farms LLC has reached an agreement through its Naturipe Berry Growers arm to market strawberries grown by Watsonville, CA-based Pacific Gold Farms. Pacific Gold's strawberries will be marketed under Global's "Naturipe" label. Pacific Gold Farms will continue to grow berries but will no longer market them itself. The agreement becomes effective with the 2006 harvest beginning in Orange County. Pacific Gold has over 700 acres of ranches in Orange County, Watsonville and Salinas. With the agreement in place, "Naturipe" brand conventional strawberry volume will grow