NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association announced June 12 its support for a Bush administration proposal to increase U.S. Food & Drug Administration funding to strengthen the agency's food safety capabilities. PMA voiced its support in response to Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt's announcement earlier in the week that the administration was seeking to amend the fiscal-year 2009 budget for FDA to add an additional $275 million. The money would be used to fund what FDA has described as a "fundamental change in strategy currently underway" to help the agency adapt to the

MISSION, TX -- The main citrus packing facility and the office for Rio Queen Citrus Inc. were destroyed by fire June 11 after a welder's torch apparently ignited insulation, according to an announcement from TexaSweet Citrus Marketing Inc. and the Texas Produce Association. There were no injuries in the complex, which was undergoing off-season repairs. Nearby onion and melon sheds and a new call center building were not involved, and power and communications lines were being restored by the next day. While area firefighters were unable to save the building or contents, they were able to

MEDFORD NJ -- The Philadelphia Chapter of the United Fresh Produce Association held its annual Louis Penza Sr. Memorial Golf Tournament at the Medford Village Country Club, here, June 6. About 100 golfers came from or were customers of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, and more than $10,000 was raised for local charities through the event. Produce broker Chuck Zambito of Zambito Produce Sales in Woodbury, NJ, has worked for many years with the owners of Pinto Bros. Inc. in Philadelphia to organize the tournament. The late Louis Penza Sr. was a highly respected and popular leader of

San Diego-based US Farms Inc., a diversified farming and nursery company, announced June 10 that it is in the process of divesting the non-performing parts of its produce brokerage segment, specifically the tomato, asparagus and garlic operations. This restructuring will allow the company to focus on its long-term strategies of expanding its core aloe vera farming and nursery operations, as well as completing the intended acquisition of specific aloe vera manufacturing and bottling equipment, for which the company has a current letter of intent. US Farms is seeking to find a buyer for its

In a move that strengthens its position as one of the leading worldwide fresh produce companies, Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. in Coral Gables, FL, has acquired the shares of Desarollo Agroindustrial de Frutales S.A., a producer of high-quality bananas in Costa Rica; the shares of Frutas de Exportacion S.A., a major provider of gold pineapples in Costa Rica; and the shares of an affiliated sales and marketing company, collectively known as Caribana. The acquisition cost was $403 million. The addition of Caribana's extensive production area substantially increases Fresh Del Monte's presence in

Bob Whitaker, Produce Marketing Association's chief science officer, responded Thursday morning, June 12, to questions on the organization's new web-based briefing series regarding the current Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak associated with tomatoes. The questions that everyone is waiting for the answers to -- what is the source of the pathogen and what is taking so long to find the source -- are good ones, but far from easy ones to answer. Dr. Whitaker said that at its very core, traceback is an investigation that relies on data gathering and analysis. "That process is performed under the