ASHEVILLE, NC -- The National Watermelon Promotion Board recommended a 50 percent increase in its assessment during its spring board meeting, here, Feb. 24 during the National Watermelon Association convention. Mark Arney, executive director of the board, told The Produce News that "the board voted to recommend a rate of six cents per hundredweight," up from the current four-cent rate. As part of the new assessment, watermelon producers and handlers would see their assessments rise to three cents from two, while importers would see a rise to six cents from four. Mr. Arney said that the

Bill Marler of the Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark has identified Mission Organics -- a company with direct partnership ties to Natural Selection Foods -- as a grower that grew spinach involved in last year's E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak that sickened more than 200 people and killed at least three -- and possibly five -- others. Mission Organics is a partnership among Mission Ranches; Drew and Myra Goodman as Earthbound Farm Inc.; and Otto Kramm. Mission Ranches, Earthbound Farm Inc. and Tanimura & Antle are partners in Natural Selection Foods. In speaking with The Produce News Tuesday, Feb

In the past couple of weeks, several mid-level chains have announced their intention to jump higher within their level through acquisition. The moves by A&P, Whole Foods and California's Save Mart supermarket should make each player stronger in its own particular niches. In the late 1990s and as the 21st century dawned, the larger national chains got bigger through consolidation, and it appeared as if the supermarket industry was heading toward a situation where the top four or five chains would control a dominant share in the marketplace. "The acquisitions by the majors didn't always work out

ASHEVILLE, NC -- It is said that records are made to be broken, and true to the old clich?, several records were set at the National Watermelon Association's 93rd annual convention, held Feb. 21-25, here, at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa. "For the past two years we have set records around the board," said Bob Morrissey, the association's executive director. "We had over 440 people at our banquet this year and that is a record crowd. We had the largest attendance, auction, sponsorship and exhibitors in our 93-year history." Mr. Morrissey said that he was hoping to match last year's level, but

TAMPA, FL -- The Southeast Produce Council attracted a record attendance to its fourth annual retail and foodservice conference and expo, held here Feb. 22-24, as participants enjoyed the golf tournament, field tours, workshops, trade show and receptions that comprised the event. Add the perfect Florida weather during all three days of what the council calls Southern Exposure 2007, and it is not surprising that SPC executives, exhibitors and attendees all gave it high marks. "We had 144 exhibitors and our attendance was up -- it's approaching 675," SPC Executive Director Terry Vorhees told The

Two laboratories have confirmed that mushrooms recalled by BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. were not contaminated with E. coli, the retailer said Feb. 23. On Feb 20, BJ's recalled mushrooms packaged under the "Wellsley Farms" brand that were purchased between Feb. 11 and Feb. 19. The retailer took the precautionary measure when preliminary test results showed the possible presence of trace amounts of E. coli from one lot code of the sliced mushrooms, said the warehouse retailer. Mushroom supplier John Pia, president of Kaolin Mushroom Farms Inc. in Kennett Square, PA, said that he suspected the