WASHINGTON -- Baja California tomato shippers were hoping to start shipping product to the United States as early as June 16 as businesses rushed to draw up certificates and other paperwork to meet the Food & Drug Administration's condition for adding the Mexican state to its all-clear list. "This is excellent news because it really shows these decisions are science based," said Allison Moore, spokesperson for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. Those growers couldn't be implicated in the outbreak because they weren't shipping when people started getting sick, she said. FDA said

Indiana, New Mexico and Baja California, Mexico, have been cleared by the Food & Drug Administration regarding the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak associated with tomatoes. FDA issued a report June 13 that added Indiana and New Mexico to its list of U.S. states that have not been associated with the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak associated with tomatoes. It also added Baja California (Norte) as the only Mexican state that is allowed to export tomatoes to the United States, but shipments must be accompanied with a certificate issued by the Secretaria de Fomento Agropecuario del Gobierno del

As the June 16 issue of The Produce News was going to press, the Salmonella situation relating to tomatoes was still very unsettled, but growers, shippers, wholesalers and retailers were optimistic that normalcy would soon return to the marketplace. Gary Margolis, president of Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales Inc. in Boca Raton, FL, was reached at his Arkansas facility June 11 as his firm was about to begin nationwide shipping of this year's tomato crop. "There is a lot of uncertainty in the market right now," Mr. Margolis said. "We are just not sure what is going to happen. We have a beautiful

At Dandrea Produce Inc. in Landisville, NJ, the next generation has arrived, and the newest member of the family-run operation is bringing energy and enthusiasm to its recently launched line of organic items. "My official title is sales assistant of the organic category," said 24-year-old Jana Dandrea, daughter of company President Frank Dandrea. "I graduated from Rowan University last year with a degree in mathematics. It's something I've always been good at, and although I have planned for many years to join the family business, I wanted math as a backup. It is also a big help in the

PHILADELPHIA -- The North American Perishable Agricultural Receivers organization will no longer be a branch of the Food Marketing Institute. But Patrick Davis will remain the president of NAPAR, and the association representing the interests of produce wholesalers will continue to operate from the Arlington, VA, offices of FMI. With the change, Mr. Davis is no longer an employee of FMI, but he will be a consultant to FMI, with the responsibility of managing FMI's strategic initiatives share group. The removal from the FMI fold will bring no substantive changes to NAPAR, Mr. Davis said. "NAPAR

NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association announced June 12 its support for a Bush administration proposal to increase U.S. Food & Drug Administration funding to strengthen the agency's food safety capabilities. PMA voiced its support in response to Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt's announcement earlier in the week that the administration was seeking to amend the fiscal-year 2009 budget for FDA to add an additional $275 million. The money would be used to fund what FDA has described as a "fundamental change in strategy currently underway" to help the agency adapt to the