Once considered seasonal items, berries of just about all types are now in demand year-round in the United States in both retail and foodservice. Strawberries are available essentially year-round from California, with seasonal volume in Florida and some other states. Most imported strawberries come from Mexico, primarily the Baja California peninsula. But when it comes to other types of berries -- blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and specialty berries such as red currants, cape gooseberries or baby kiwifruit -- marketers source from many countries at different seasons in order to be able

Larry G. Noble, former president of the T. Marzetti Co., best known as a marketer of a wide variety of salad dressings and sauces, died Sept. 28 at age 70. He was a resident of Dublin, OH. Mr. Noble started his long-standing career in the food industry in 1958 with the Campbell Soup Co. In 1962, he joined T. Marzetti as a salesman and became president in 1974. He remained president until his retirement in 2003. In 1985, he was promoted to vice president of Lancaster Colony Corp., parent company of T. Marzetti. During his time as president of T. Marzetti, Mr. Noble oversaw acquisitions of 14

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, CA -- In the wake of the national outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in spinach that has been linked to Natural Selection Foods LLC, the company will take its food-safety program from "fork to fields," company Chief Operating Officer Charles Sweat told the media at a press conference held here Sept. 28. Following the recall announcement, the California Department of Health Services and the Food & Drug Administration conducted tests at Natural Selection Food's facilities, here, to try to determine the origin of the contamination. The tests all came back negative, as did all the

YOUNG HARRIS, GA -- Escaping into the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, here, at the Brasstown Valley Resort, attendees of the Southeast Produce Council's seventh annual fall conference enjoyed a weekend that featured an informative business improvement session conducted by industry expert Ron Pelger, an update on the California contaminated spinach issue, a memorial golf tournament, a fishing tournament, the election of a new SPC board, and plenty of socializing and opportunities for business development. Mr. Pelger, a produce retailing expert and consultant and a regular columnist for The

The Mexican government has taken the unprecedented action of banning all imports of U.S. lettuce, according to alerts issued by the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association. The ban was effective Monday, Oct. 9, and according to the Mexican commissioner of health promotion, was prompted by the recent precautionary recall of 8,533 boxes of California lettuce from one shipper. In addition to closing its borders to U.S. lettuce, the Mexican government has also ordered stores to remove all U.S. lettuce from their shelves and urged Mexicans not to consume any lettuce

The Nunes Co. Inc. announced in an Oct. 9 statement that it has voluntarily recalled its "green leaf lettuce" sold under the "Foxy" brand harvested from one farm, shipped from Tuesday, Oct. 3 through Friday, Oct. 6. This recall does not involve Iceberg lettuce or Romaine lettuce. As of this statement, over 97 percent of the affected cartons have been located, and have either been destroyed or have been set aside for destruction. Only about 250 cartons could have reached consumers out of 8,533 cut from this farm, it added, and the company continues to identify the location of these cartons, and