Back in February, Deardorff Family Farms announced the introduction of a first-of-its-kind recyclable box for shipping celery. But it was only in September that the company was able to ramp up production of the box, according to Tom Deardorff II, president of Oxnard, CA-based Deardorff Family Farms. The box provides all the benefits of traditional wax-saturated boxes with the added advantage of recyclability, and the response from customers has been positive. "It performs well compared with wax -- it does well from the cold chain," Mr. Deardorff said, adding that both performance and the

A 10-15 percent drop in overall cranberry volume may translate to a very limited supply of fresh cranberries for the remainder of the holiday season. While the quality and the color of the fruit have both been good, the size has been smaller than normal, industry experts said. "The particular variety called Early Black, which is one of the oldest varieties that we have -- some are in bogs that are over 100-plus years old -- didn't size up as well as they typically do, and because the size wasn't where it typically is, your production number is going to be down a bit," Stephen V. Lee IV

The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services' Fresh from Florida campaign took center stage in New York City's Times Square Nov. 18. New Yorkers and visitors alike received a virtual "taste" of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, tropical fruits, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet corn, strawberries and squash during video spots that ran from Nov. 18 through Dec. 1, a time period that included the Nov. 22 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Holiday wreaths and trees in the video spots were decorated with the fresh produce items. Four 15-second spots ran regularly on the 20

The Northwest Horticultural Council indicated that Washington has incurred its first of three strikes for apples under the Taiwan work plan with the season's first codling moth find. Council President Chris Schlect said that a codling moth larva was detected in a recent shipment of Washington apples exported to Taiwan. The plan allows for three strikes before apple imports are suspended. "It's not desired, but not unusual," Mr. Schlect told The Produce News. "Hopefully, it's a routine incident." Taiwan is an important apple market in the Pacific Rim, especially for the Fuji variety. "We're

PHILADELPHIA -- The ongoing quest for a location for a new Philadelphia wholesale produce market has renewed hope. Jimmy Storey, president of the Philadelphia Fresh Food Terminal Corp., told The Produce News Nov. 20, "We do have a site. We should be making an announcement in two weeks. What is good about the site is that it is shovel- ready. If we do decide to build there, we should have a new terminal market in 24 to 30 months." This is the latest hope in an ebb and flow of several potential sites that have been considered in recent years. In late August, The Produce News reported on the

Lee Frankel has taken a position as chief executive officer of the United Potato Growers of America and resigned a similar post with the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, where he served for 12 years. In a note e-mailed to many in the industry, Mr. Frankel said he greatly enjoyed his years with the Nogales, AZ-based association but is looking forward to his new challenge. He will remain with the association through the end of the year. An FPAA spokesperson said that the association's board is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Dec. 4, at which point it will discuss its options and announce