The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's efforts to stymie the merger of Whole Foods Markets Inc. and Wild Oats Markets Inc. were thwarted in late August when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the FTC's request for a stay to delay the closing of the deal. The FTC had announced its opposition to the merger soon after it was announced earlier this year. On Feb. 21, Whole Foods agreed to purchase all outstanding shares of Wild Oats at a purchase price of $18.50 per share in cash. On June 6, the FTC filed a suit in the federal district court to block the proposed acquisition

The Vidalia Onion Committee, based in Vidalia, GA, has selected 10 winning produce managers from U.S. supermarket retail companies in its Sweet Rewards Merchandising Display Contest, which was held from May 1 through June 8. The winning produce managers and retailers are Eric Dodge from Hy-Vee, Aaron Fleming from Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., Tony Gilliam from Food City, Timothy Hassler from Ferguson & Hassler Inc., Angela Hopson from Food City, Lannie Kiser from Brookshire Grocery Co., Dee Mabry from Brookshire Grocery Co., Lequitte Perry from KVAT Food Store, Doyle Robinson from Food City, and

The AccuWeather forecast for Fresno, CA, on Aug. 29, called for high temperatures of 106-108 degrees every day through Sept. 2, cooling to 104 on Sept. 3 before dropping back into double-digit readings beginning Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day. If the 108-degree high forecasted for Friday, Aug. 31, proves accurate, it will break the record for the date of 107 degrees, set in 1888, according to AccuWeather. The AccuWeather forecast for Reedley, CA, for Aug. 30 was 109 degrees, which would top the record for the date of 107 degrees set in 1950. Normal highs for the time period are around 90-92

Pomegranates are in a very enviable position. Volume continues to rise as plantings over the past decade mature, and demand is rising right along with it. By all accounts, there are at least 17,000 acres of pomegranate trees planted, and the nurseries sell out of new rootstock very early in the cycle each year. The vast majority of that acreage belongs to POM Wonderful, which began planting pomegranate trees more than a decade ago. Fiona Posell, vice president of corporate communications for Roll International, the parent company of POM Wonderful as well as the Paramount Farms farming entity

On Aug. 29, King City, CA-based Metz Fresh LLC voluntarily recalled spinach sold to retail and foodservice due to a positive find for salmonella during a routine, third-party test, although no resulting illnesses had been reported. Labeled under the "Metz Fresh" brand, the 10- and 16-ounce bags and 2.5- and four-pound cartons of the product in question were distributed in Canada and the United States. The packages bear tracking codes 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314, and Metz Fresh has set up a hotline, 831/386-1018, to address concerns.

Among all the competition, Mastronardi Produce Ltd. won the Best Hothouse Specialty Tomato in the Tomato Capital of Canada Award for its Sunset Splendido grape tomato in Leamington, ON, at this year's Leamington Tomato Festival. "We are very excited about this variety. Just like our world-famous Campari tomatoes, Splendido tomatoes are getting worldly attention, and we expect it to grow even faster" Paul Mastronardi, executive vice president, said in a statement. "I knew we had hit the flavor jackpot with our Splendido when our employees were stealing the tomatoes off the trial plants a few