J.P. Veggies Inc., doing business as VeggieLand, a leading natural and vegetarian foods manufacturer in Parsippany, NJ, has announced the acquisition of the "Franklin Farms" brand of vegetarian products. Don Burke, who was vice president of marketing and sales at Franklin Farms prior to the sale, will serve as national retail sales manager for the Franklin Farms division of VeggieLand under the new acquisition. "Franklin Farms was a major fresh mushroom producer, but two years ago it sold its fresh division to Giorgio Foods in Temple, Pennsylvania," said Mr. Burke. "What remained was the

Ayco Farms, headquartered in Deerfield Beach, FL, said that it has received strong response to its new "Super Mini Me" watermelon, which it debuted at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit exposition in Orlando, FL. The "Super Mini Me" is currently at a semi-commercial level, as production has only recently begun and volumes are not yet large enough to market the item full scale. The orange- to grapefruit-sized watermelon is geared toward single-serving uses. "We have enough seed to bring in enough boxes to give out samples and introduce the melon," Avi Nir, president of Ayco, told

ORLANDO, FL -- Sister companies Horton Fruit Co. and Grow Farms, based in Louisville, KY, are working together to help promote Kentucky-grown produce and preserve family farms. Grow Farms, which was founded earlier this year and is a grower and distributor of high-quality regional foods, was the brainchild of Brian Knott, who oversees operations. According to Mr. Knott, farming inputs are rising across the board, and without some assistance with marketing and distribution, growers are at risk of going out of business. "We provide food safety and traceability expertise," said Mr. Knott. "Inputs

ORLANDO, FL -- The spring campaign of the Produce for Kids supplier-retail fundraising promotion set a record for the organization and pushed the money raised by the effort since its inception in 2002 to over $1.6 million. Founded by John Shuman, president of Reidsville, GA-based Shuman Produce Inc., PFK raises money to benefit Children's Miracle Network hospitals in the areas where the funds are raised by connecting participating produce suppliers with participating retailers. For every unit of produce a retailer buys from a supplier, a donation is made. And in-store signage informs consumers

ORLANDO, FL -- A five-year compromise may be signed before Thanksgiving that would establish April 10 as the cutoff date allowing certain Chilean grape varieties to enter the United States without special inspections. Currently, Chilean grapes are allowed to enter the United States until April 20 before undergoing special inspections to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service regulations. California grape interests have long sought to change the existing AMS marketing order to require that specified varieties of Chilean grapes arriving in the United States after

JC Produce, the West Sacramento, CA, firm that closed its doors last month, has at least $700,000 more PACA debt than it has receivables. In an unsigned letter to its creditors dated Oct. 24, the company acknowledged that the preliminary report shows about $2.27 million in accounts receivables compared to $2.96 million in PACA claims. People familiar with similar situations said that PACA claims will probably rise as other firms file claims within the statutory deadline, but the accounts receivables number probably will not change, as the company should have a very good handle on that figure