WASHINGTON -- The California Leafy Greens Handler Marketing Agreement got an airing on Capitol Hill July 29, and the publicity was not all good. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee, held an afternoon hearing to air his concerns with the 2007 marketing agreement as the U.S Department of Agriculture considers whether to implement it nationwide. The California program is largely silent on "upstream processing and distribution" of ready-to-eat produce but has a lot to say about farming practices and land stewardship, said Rep. Kucinich. The

MONTEREY, CA -- Should a national fruit and vegetable board be formed, funded by mandatory assessments on producers, to encourage Americans to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables? If so, who should pay the assessments? How much should the assessments be? How much funding would it really take to move the needle? What are the prospects of obtaining matching funds from government grants? Should the primary objective of such a board be to improve public health or to improve the profitability of the industry? Those are a few of the questions that were discussed Saturday, July 25, at

MONTEREY, CA -- Foodservice sales may be down overall, but some restaurant concepts continue to do well and there are some bright spots, according to Kim Rothstein, a principal in The Hale Group, a strategic consulting firm serving the food and agribusiness industries. Speaking at a seminar here Saturday, July 25, during the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference & Exposition, Ms. Rothstein discussed the current state of the economy and its effect on foodservice as well as research-based forecasts on where the industry is going; she also talked about how foodservice operators

MONTEREY, CA -- It is a given these days that foodservice operators and distributors expect their suppliers to have third-party audited food-safety programs in place, according to several of the participants in a food-safety panel Saturday, July 25, at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference & Exposition, here. But panelists from both sides of the foodservice supply chain acknowledged the difficulties and additional costs that arise from a lack of consistency in food-safety standards. Currently, suppliers may be required by one customer to meet one set of standards and by

HARTFORD, CT -- To help celebrate National Farmers' Market Week (Aug. 2- 8), Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture F. Philip Prelli invited residents of the state to join him in participating in the first CT Grown Challenge. "For one week, I challenge every resident to eat at least one CT-grown item each day," Commissioner Prelli said in a press release. "I am committing to purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables personally but encourage consumers to seek out CT-grown meats, cheeses, milk, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies and specialty foods as well. With so many options to choose

Ocean Mist Farms, based in Castroville, CA, has pledged $50,000 to the Produce Marketing Association Foundation for Industry Talent. This funding will support programs designed to broaden awareness about the rewards and opportunities of a career in the produce industry. "With an impending labor crisis facing all industries, the competition for new and existing talent will continue to be fierce at all levels of staffing -- operational and managerial," Joe Pezzini, chief operating officer of Ocean Mist, said in a July 21 press release. "As an industry, we have to join forces to compete for