Salinas, CA-based NewStar Fresh Foods LLC will introduce several new items at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit in Atlanta. NewStar's sleeved asparagus, which has been under development for a year, is set for a Jan. 1 national rollout, said John Killeen, the company's vice president of sales and marketing. From both handling and food-safety standpoints, the sleeve is a plus, Mr. Killeen said. "The bag keeps [asparagus] hydrated," Mr. Killeen said. "People handle the bag, not the product." NewStar's 48-count iceless green onions liner adds to the company's iceless offerings.

Chef de cuisine Andrew LeTourneau of 26 brix restaurant in Walla Walla, WA, will be on hand Sunday, Nov. 6, at Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee's booth (No. 1643) at the Produce Marketing Association's convention in Atlanta. Chef LeTourneau, who is filling in at the Atlanta event for chef-owner Mike Davis, will be dishing up a variety of Walla Walla sweet onion samples and providing recipes for booth visitors. Chef Davis, in the meantime, will be at home in Walla Walla, where he and his wife, Krista, are awaiting the birth of their first child. Chef Davis, who is known for his "neo

WASHINGTON -- The Senate is expected to approve a final agriculture spending bill that would delay country-of- origin labeling for two more years, raise the profile of specialty crops and give organic producers the fix they needed to allow the organic program to go forward. News of the COOL delay was met with immediate praise from some members of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. The last-minute decision by a select group of House and Senate negotiators working out differences on the 2006 agriculture appopriations bill added fresh fruits and vegetables to an amendment that delayed

RIDGEFIELD, CT -- Gina Ancona was born July 26, 1976, in Ridgefield, CT, where she still lives. She went to Ridgefield High School. Her parents live in Ridgefield. She works in Ridgefield. She really is a local girl. She is also a key part of Ancona's Market, a family-owned supermarket that has been serving the people of Ridgefield, in southwestern Connecticut, since the 1920s. After graduating from Ridgefield High School in 1994, Ms. Ancona enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, studying animal science, a field she still enjoys. "I thought that's where I wanted to be, but I

With the launch of its "Fresh Mountain Farms" brand cabbage, Boone, NC-based Hollar & Greene Produce is hoping to combat declining sales that bulk cabbage has experienced in recent years. "Earlier this year we hired Golden Sun Marketing and challenged them to come up with a consumer-driven solution that will drive sales," Tim Greene, director of marketing for Hollar & Greene, said in a statement. The cabbage industry has been beset with flat to declining sales of bulk cabbage in recent years. The reasons include the fact that consumers are not aware of the tremendous nutritional message

San Juan Bautista, CA-based Pride of San Juan has announced two new tender leaf products to its foodservice offerings. The new products -- organic spring mix and organic baby spinach -- are PSJ's first products that are certified organic. The bulk products are available now. Organic spring mix is available in three-pound, 2x1.5-pound and 4x3-pound pillow pack cartons, while organic baby spinach is available in a four-pound pack. "We are excited to be able to offer these organic products to the foodservice market," said Stephen Wyrick, chief executive officer and owner of Pride of San Juan.