SANDPOINT, ID -- Litehouse Inc. announced June 21 the acquisition of Green Garden Foods, a leading Seattle-based provider of dressings, sauces and dips to the U.S. and Canadian retail grocery, foodservice and restaurant industries. With the addition of Green Garden, Litehouse said that it will be able to facilitate expanded growth and innovation through new production capabilities and product knowledge. Litehouse will make use of the expanded production capabilities through consolidation into its Sandpoint, ID, and Lowell, MI, facilities. Litehouse and Green Garden said that they will work

As a result of a highly targeted regional promotion, Tanimura & Antle, based in Salinas, CA, is seeing an increase in sales and retailer interest in the company's innovative "Living Lettuce" product. Leveraging a creative Live from Tennessee theme, Tanimura & Antle's promotion included a direct-mail program, promotional web site, advertising campaign and sales team support to communicate directly with produce buyers. The results-oriented effort has gained 13 new accounts and an impressive increase in individual customer sales. "The messages and creativity in this promotion hit home with

The committee developing voluntary national standards for sustainable agriculture approved a set of principles that outline its work for the next two years at a meeting June 14-15 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Also, the committee was told that legal opinions held that the copyright of any standards developed would be owned by the committee. The principles cover economic, social and environmental criteria related to farm labor rights; water, soil and air pollution; biodiversity; greenhouse gases; and other topics. Work will now move forward to develop indicators and metrics for

Karen Antle was recognized as the Ag Woman of the Year for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties at an event held June 11 at Paraiso Vineyards in Soledad hosted by Ag Against Hunger. This annual luncheon recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to the success of the tri-county agricultural industry. The Ag Woman of the Year award, which seeks to honor unique leadership qualities of women working within the local agricultural industry, is a surprise to all guests, including the recipient. More than 220 people were in attendance to recognize Ms. Antle. This year, the committee

WASHINGTON -- The 2010 Dietary Guidelines should recommend that Americans shift their food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, according to a new report delivered June 15 to top Obama administration officials. Every five years, the federal government names an advisory panel to scrutinize the latest science and make nutritional recommendations to the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Health & Human Services that later become the Dietary Guidelines. "The advisory report will provide USDA and HHS

Cold spring weather and a shift in California varieties have combined to create a demand-exceeds-supply situation in the early stages of the plum market this year. The U.S. Federal State Market News Service reported June 14 that plum prices are about $25 per carton f.o.b., which is about 25 percent more than nectarines and 60 percent more than peaches. "The plum deal isn't like it used to be," said Gary Van Sickle, president of the California Tree Fruit Agreement. "We just don't have the early volume like we used to." He said that numbers tell the story, as only about 60,000 cartons of plums