A Jan. 15 story from the Associated Press reported that Burger King may stop buying tomatoes from southwestern Florida because of pressure put on the company by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The coalition has campaigned for the past year to try to get Burger King to join Yum Brands (Taco Bell) and McDonald's in paying a premium on tomatoes from state growers. According to the AP story, Steven Grover, vice president of Burger King, issued a letter to its suppliers stating, "In an effort to protect the "BKC" brand and supply system from disruption, we are developing contingency plans to

The Center for Produce Safety at the University of California-Davis has named Tim York, president of Salinas, CA-based Markon Cooperative, as chairman of the center's new board of advisors. With 30 industry, academic and regulatory members named to the advisory board of the center, UC Davis is poised to further advance its research and education partnerships on foodborne illnesses like E. coli. "Tim York's leadership on the advisory board will allow UC-Davis, other research centers, the produce industry and regulatory agencies to work together to establish the critical scientific foundation

PACIFIC GROVE, CA -- Food safety and what is viewed as a set of good agricultural practices that was imposed on the industry by the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement carried the discussions Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the California Certified Organic Farmers conference held here at the Asilomar Conference Center. California Certified Organic Farmers, based in Santa Cruz, CA, drew members from throughout the state to its two-day conference that continued on Wednesday, Jan. 23. The conference coincided with the group's 34th annual meeting and was a lead-in to the 2008 Ecological Farming

Philadelphia produce distributor Mark Stout died Jan. 15 while skiing in Steamboat Springs, CO. He was 45 and was the owner of Eckert's Produce Co. on the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market. The cause of death remained unknown as autopsy results had not been released as of Jan. 22. Philadelphia industry sources who attended Mr. Stout's Jan. 22 funeral said that it is not known if Mr. Stout ran into a tree while skiing or had a heart attack and fell into a "tree well," where his body was found by resort rescuers after a two-hour search. A tree well forms after a heavy snowfall when tree

This winter, Mann's "Broccoli Wokly" is getting a new partner: Kraft grated parmesan cheese. Starting Jan. 28, Mann will apply 350,000 on-pack offers to save 55 cents on its "Broccoli Wokly" with the purchase of Kraft grated parmesan cheese. "Kraft wants to increase sales of grated parmesan cheese by communicating usage ideas beyond conventional Italian food such as pizza and pasta," Lorri Koster, vice president of marketing for Mann Packing Co., said in a press release. "Broccoli was identified as the number one vegetable best paired with parmesan cheese. As a result, all of the creative in

Watsonville, CA-based California Giant Inc. has officially changed its name to California Giant Berry Farms. The name shift provides a much broader umbrella and descriptive image of the company. "California Giant Berry Farms" has served as a marketing tag line for the last two seasons, but until now was not incorporated into the company's complete business. The new logo and name will be integrated into all company media during 2008, including product packaging, the company web site, brochures and letterhead. The push to give the California Giant Berry Farms name prominence stemmed from