PLEASANTON, CA -- United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel said that the industry is facing many challenges, but it also has numerous opportunities that can make this a golden age for fruits and vegetables. Speaking Feb. 19 at the Northern California luncheon meeting of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council at the Castlewood Country Club, here, Mr. Stenzel first laid out the challenges. For brevity's sake, he contained his remarks to the top three challenges as well as the top three opportunities. He listed an acute labor shortage, competition from other foods and food safety as the

Although it recently lost one of its larger fresh cranberry growers, Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. is "absolutely committed to fresh and is very much in a growth mindset, and we plan for that to continue," Chris Phillips, a spokesperson for the Lakeville-Middleboro, MA-based cooperative, told The Produce News Feb. 20. When asked about the departure of Tomah, WI-based Habelman Bros. Co. and the loss of the substantial volume it supplied the cooperative, Mr. Phillips said, "We're leap years beyond and looking to the future. We sold nearly 1 million cases last year and have plans in place for the

James J. Jardina Jr., former president and chief executive officer of J.J. Jardina Co. Inc. in Atlanta, died Feb. 13 from complications from pneumonia. Mr. Jardina was born Nov. 23, 1925 in Gainesville, GA, and graduated from the University of Georgia after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. An avid fan of the University of Georgia, Mr. Jardina was an active member of the team's mascot organization, the Bulldog Club, where he enjoyed food and fellowship. He also enjoyed golf. He was a member of the Berkeley Hills Country Club and the Georgia Seniors. He was also a long-time member

While some fresh apple and cherry growers have lost a longtime packer, the processing side of Northwest fruit is retaining one of its top-five pear canners. Snokist Growers, a Yakima, WA-based cooperative that has packed fresh apples, apricots, prunes, plums, cherries and pears for more than a century, announced in mid-February that it has ended that side of its operations, and company President Jim Davis told The Produce News that the decision affects 100 growers. Mr. Davis said that approximately 250 growers contributed to the combined fresh-process volume, with 150 growing specifically for

PHILADELPHIA -- An April light may be shining for a new wholesale produce market, here. After a Feb. 12 meeting of the board of the Philadelphia Fresh Food Terminal Corp., representatives for the group told The Produce News that the market was never so close to signing a deal, but there are a lot of contracts that have to be negotiated. A final agreement was expected to be reached by April 8. After a series of false starts over the last several years, the Philadelphia produce distributors are now focused on a vacant property at 6700 Essington Ave. An eight-minute drive from the existing market

Markon Cooperative, based in Salinas, CA, announced Feb. 13 the addition of ProPacific Fresh, a produce specialist based in Durham, CA. ProPacific Fresh is Markon's first California member and the first produce specialist to join the cooperative. Tim York, president of Markon, said in a press release that the addition reflects increased demand for Markon's proprietary brands. He added that it would help Markon improve service to its existing and prospective multi-unit account customers. "ProPacific Fresh fits our core criteria for membership: privately owned, handling quality products and