Merchants Foodservice has become the newest member of Produce Alliance. Produce Alliance, headquartered in Nashville, TN, is a management services group specializing in the procurement and distribution of fresh produce to the foodservice industry. With the addition of Merchants Foodservice, Produce Alliance now has 34 members with 37 distribution centers. "Consistent quality, purchasing programs and the ability of Produce Alliance to acquire and service national and regional multi-unit chain accounts were the compelling reasons that drove us to join the alliance," Andy Mercier, president of

PHILADELPHIA -- An agreement reached last year that would relocate the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market a few miles south of its current location to the old Philadelphia Naval Yard is now under fire with the discovery of a bald eagle nest on the site and protests about whether construction of the market would limit the future of the city as a seaport. The long path toward a new Philadelphia produce market took twists on March 22 that no one could have imagined. Eagles are suddenly more than just a football team in Philadelphia since the Philadelphia media reported March 22 the sighting of

SALINAS, CA -- A first-of-its kind National Ag Science Center is planned to be built on the Modesto Junior College campus in Modesto, CA. The projected opening is 2009, according to Michele Laverty, director of the science center. Ms. Laverty passed through Salinas on March 19 in an effort to drum up support for the project from the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California. She met with Jim Bogart, the association's president and general counsel, who showed support for the idea and offered to introduce Ms. Laverty to industry contacts, including those at trade associations. Since

The final report on spinach by the joint efforts of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the California Department of Health Services offered much detail of investigative efforts but few revelations that have not already become public in recent weeks and months. The report points to Paicines Ranch in San Benito County as the likely source for the E. coli outbreak. It's the first time that authorities acknowledged that they had isolated the deadly E. coli strain on Paicines Ranch, near a field the ranch leased to Mission Organics. As has been acknowledged throughout the more than six-month

Citing progress made to the metrics of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement as well as trade association involvement, Salinas, CA-based Fresh Express decided March 31 to sign on to the agreement. Implementation of the agreement began Sunday, April 1. Fresh Express' previous reluctance to sign on had set the company apart as the lone holdout among companies with significant volume and impact on the California leafy greens industry. Fresh Express President Tanios Viviani speculated that with Fresh Express climbing onboard, close to 100 percent of the state's leafy

WASHINGTON -- Labor shortages continue to hamper harvest operations across the country, but advocates warn that Congress may be unlikely to touch immigration reform for years to come if it doesn't act this summer. "We have until the end of August to get a bill," said New York Apple Association President Jim Allen. After that, Congress will start the presidential election season, and the prospects for relief from the increasing labor problems and tightening border security dim, he said. "In Idaho, we left apples on the trees," said Kelly Henggeler of Fruitland, ID- based Henggeler Packing Co