WASHINGTON -- The Food & Drug Administration sent investigators this past weekend (June 21-22) to Mexico and Florida to test farms and packinghouses that turned up as leads, but there is still no word on what caused the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 600 people so far. FDA sent teams of multi-disciplinary experts to both Mexico and Florida to conduct joint inspections on the farms and other tomato handling sites throughout the distribution chain. FDA has yet to announce any findings from the trips. Records on those tomatoes that sickened people have led investigators back to

For many years, the California garlic industry has faced stiff competition from low-priced garlic from China. As a result, the acreage of garlic planted in California declined steadily and sharply. But garlic marketers say that while price-sensitive buyers still turn to Chinese garlic, there are customers that are loyal to California-grown product, primarily because of its superior flavor profile. While no precise acreage figures are available, several industry sources suggest that the amount of acreage planted to garlic in California this year is up for a change, if only slightly so. There

Ron Pelger, president and chief executive officer of RonProCon Power- Produce, is teaming with Grow My Profits LLC on its track and traceability business intelligence initiative, Anthony Totta, president and chief executive officer of Grow My Profits, announced in a press release. "Ron has valuable retail experience as a director of produce," Mr. Totta said in the release. "He sees tremendous business intelligence coming from this technology and is whole-heartedly engaging with Grow My Profits' educational and training initiative." "I am pleased to join the Grow My Profits LLC's track and

With summer just around the corner and the prime California avocado season underway, the California Avocado Commission has launched the most wide- reaching consumer media campaign in its history. "We're forecasting 340 million pounds for the 2008 California avocado harvest, which is an increase of 81 million pounds over the 2007 season," Guy Witney, director of industry affairs for the commission, said in a statement. "While this estimate is slightly lower than the preseason forecast, there's an abundance of outstanding fruit in the market. From a quality perspective, this year's California

FRESNO, CA -- The California Table Grape Commission recently introduced a new logo, which the commission calls its "unified global brand," for use in all industry marketing programs. The logo depicts a simple, stylized bunch of grapes encircled by the words "Grapes from California." But what makes the logo distinctive is that it is imprinted on the side of a traditional wooden grape carton, giving it a deliberately retro feel and evoking an image of farmstand freshness. Advertising messages in magazines play off the image by talking about the multigenerational heritage of California grape

Zac Sunderland, who at 16 years of age is seeking to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, will take with him on his voyage a message of healthy eating. The intrepid Mr. Sunderland has enlisted the support of Produce for Kids, an organization that promotes the benefits of healthy eating and raises funds for Children's Miracle Network hospitals nationwide and PBS. Through Produce for Kids, additional produce sponsors have come on board to support the program, including Shuman Produce, a produce marketing company specializing in the marketing and distribution of quality