California's strawberry grower-shippers may not be as resolute as the U.S. Postal Service with its unofficial motto not to be diverted from the task of delivering the mail through rain, snow, sleet or hail. But it's not for lack of trying. Heavy rainfall delayed and limited strawberry supplies coming out of Southern California this past fall and winter. But many California growers plant in various strawberry growing regions in the state that overlap when the northern region -- the Watsonville-Salinas area -- typically comes on strong in April. Then too, some growers also can turn to their

WASHINGTON -- First lady Michelle Obama has urged the packaged food industry to move faster in reformulating healthy foods and to dig deeper and spend more money on advertising healthy foods to children. Just a little more than a month after kicking off her "Let's Move" campaign, when she pledged to solve the obesity crisis in a generation and provide more access to fresh, nutritious foods to children, Ms. Obama told a Grocery Manufacturers Association meeting March 16 to "step up" marketing healthy foods. "That starts with revamping or ramping up your efforts to reformulate your products

WASHINGTON -- Fifteen years after the last Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act increase went into effect, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to nearly double the annual license fees, starting Oct. 1. The PACA protects growers, shippers, distributors and retailers by prohibiting unfair and fraudulent trade practices. In 1995, PACA annual license fees increased to $550 from $400 for all licensees except retailers and grocery wholesalers. But office cutbacks and yearly appropriation supplements have not saved the program from proposing increases, USDA said in a March 11 Federal

Francis Perry Murphy, 84, died peacefully March 13 at his home in Pearland, TX. The cause of death was not given. Along with his father and brother, Mr. Murphy started O.P. Murphy Produce Co. Inc. over 60 years ago. The company is still a major factor in growing and shipping tomatoes to Texas and the rest of the nation. Its success fulfilled a lifelong goal for Mr. Murphy of establishing successful tomato businesses in Texas and California, according to a company press release. He was born Sept. 12, 1925, in Harlingen, TX, to Oscar Perry Murphy and Ruby (Slater) Murphy. He served in the Navy

WASHINGTON -- If Brazil joins Mexico in levying retaliatory trade tariffs on U.S. pear producers, it would cut 50 percent of total exports, according to Jeff Corea, international marketing director for the Pear Bureau Northwest. Brazil announced March 8 that it would raise tariffs on $591 million worth of U.S. products in retaliation for U.S. cotton subsidies. The World Trade Organization found that U.S. cotton subsidies were discriminatory and authorized Brazil to enact countermeasures against U.S. goods. The 102 U.S. products on the hit-list include hazelnuts, walnuts, pears, cherries and

The Center for Produce Safety at the University of California-Davis announced that it will host a Produce Research Symposium on Wednesday, June 23, at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the University of California-Davis. The format of the symposium will allow for open dialogue between research scientists and produce industry leaders looking for real-world applications to food safety issues. Results of 11 CPS-funded research projects will be showcased throughout the day. Principal investigators will briefly present their studies then join panel discussions about the