ORLANDO, FL -- The latest offering of New York-based A.J. Trucco Inc. will be organic Italian clementines. Nick Pacia, who co-owns the firm with Salvatore Vacca, said that the coming organic clementines would expand the firm's line, which features produce from Italy and kiwifruit from Italy, New Zealand and other international sources. Speaking with The Produce News Oct. 26 during the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit convention, here, Mr. Pacia said that he had an Italian grower and two from New Zealand meeting customers from his booth. At the PMA show, the firm displayed Italian

STAATSBURG, NY -- When Greg Quinn was looking for a new crop to grow, he didn't set out to overturn a nearly century-old law. But that was exactly what he did. Mr. Quinn, who has both a horticultural background and a food background - he operated and was a chef in a restaurant in Bavaria - set out to find a "high-end niche crop" to grow on his 140-acre farm here in the rolling hills of Dutchess County and initially looked into ginseng, garlic and mushrooms. "I knew because of my exposure to the food business that I wasn't going to be able to pay the mortgage growing hay and corn," Mr. Quinn

ORLANDO, FL -- "Who ever has a party and has no salsa?" Jay Alley asked. His firm, Fresherized Foods in Fort Worth, TX, has answered that marketing question by placing its own, new "Wholly Salsa" brand onto the market. The firm is best known for its "Wholly Guacamole" brand guacamole. Mr. Alley, who is vice president of retail operations for Fresherized, said that the new salsa is the classic flavor, which is available with mild, medium or hot levels of spiciness. Mr. Alley, who spoke with The Produce News at the Fresherized booth during the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit, here

ORLANDO, FL -- Relaunching its web site to coincide with the 2008 Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit, Canadian greenhouse grower OriginO is focusing on the health benefits provided by organic tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. And while the greenhouse operation -- which has an exclusive marketing agreement with The Oppenheimer Group -- touts a two-crop season and looks forward to lively holiday movement of its product, Brazilian grape grower Labrunier, a new marketing partner, adds significantly to Oppenheimer's October-December grape program. Greeting PMA visitors to the Oppenheimer

ORLANDO, FL -- Sylvain Terrault has big plans for HydroSerre Mirabel. The new president of the Mirabel, QC-based firm, which is renowned for its hydroponic lettuce grown using floating raft technology, told The Produce News here at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit that after 20 years, "it was time do something different to put the company at the forefront of the industry." While he said that the company will continue to focus on its markets in Canada and in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, "we're re-engineering the way we're growing lettuce to bypass the production problems that

WASHINGTON -- According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, its Oct. 23 revisions to the final no-match rule will persuade the courts to lift an injunction and allow the government to begin enforcing the controversial law. But Western Growers Association says not so fast. The government issued yet another version of the so-called no-match rule earlier this month that requires employers to correct errors that occur when an employee's name and Social Security number do not agree with government records. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California