Michigan authorities quickly named prepackaged lettuce sold by Detroit wholesaler Aunt Mid's Produce Co. as the likely cause of 30 illnesses there, but company President Dominic Riggio says not so fast. The Michigan Department of Community Health issued a Sept. 26 statement that identified industrial-sized packages of Iceberg lettuce as the most likely cause of 30 cases of E. coli poisoning around the state. Six other people in Illinois found to be suffering from the same E. coli fingerprint have been linked to the same outbreak. But Mr. Riggio said that lettuce samples and environmental

According to Ken Severn, interim president of the Washington Apple Commission, the organization will spend $6.5 million in 25 countries this year to increase the value of the state's apples. As a result, several staff changes have been made as the program is implemented. Todd Fryhover, a longtime Wenatchee, WA-area marketer, is now export operations director and is responsible for all day-to-day promotion in the markets as well as communication with the export sales desks. Much of the funding of the WAC export programs comes from a cooperative effort with the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service

Zespri Group Ltd. Chairman Craig Greenlees has announced his decision to step down after six years in the role, and the board of directors subsequently elected John Loughlin, independent director of six years and former Richmond Ltd. chief executive officer, as his replacement. Peter McBride will be deputy chairman after having served for six years as a director. Mr. Greenlees said that he had decided to make this year his last as chairman and had previously advised the board of his intention to step down. He will continue as a director of Zespri Group Ltd. and also G6 Kiwi Ltd. "I am

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer has designated 10 New Jersey counties as natural disaster areas following hail storms, drought, heat and other severe weather conditions that led to crop losses during the 2008 growing season. On Aug. 13, three days after hailstorms damaged crops in Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, Atlantic and Camden counties, Gov. Jon S. Corzine requested the disaster designation, saying that New Jersey farmers had experienced substantial agricultural production losses to important crops. "A variety of inclement weather patterns this summer have had a devastating

Duda Farm Fresh Foods, which owns one of the world's larger celery breeding programs, has been granted two additional patents for new commercial celery varieties. The new varieties, ADS-11 and ADS-2, come from more than 1,200 lines developed for company trials each year to create celery varieties for Duda Farm Fresh Foods' retail and foodservice customers. To protect its proprietary celery varieties, the company has adopted DNA "fingerprinting" technology. "While the patent provides the strongest protection and grants legal recourse for the company against any person or entity caught working

SALINAS, CA -- Since 1990, the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce has presented an agricultural leadership award to the individual, company, group, association or agency that has made the most significant contribution to the Salinas area agricultural community. The 2008 Agricultural Leadership Award recipient is Bob Martin, who has worked as general manager of King City, CA-based Rio Farms for the past 27 years. Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms, was last year's recipient of the award and presented the 2008 award to Mr. Martin at a luncheon