If it happens, the Kroger Co. would become the nation's largest supermarket with sales approaching, if not topping, $100 billion. If it happens, Kroger would receive about $1 of every $5 America spends at the supermarket. What the "it" is, of course, the potential sale of the No. 2 supermarket-specific chain in the United States to the chain occupying the No. 1 slot in that category. Though those rankings can be disputed, depending upon who is counting and what is counted, there is no doubt that the resulting firm would be No. 1 by a large margin. Albertsons operates 2,500 stores in 37 states

Malena Produce Inc. in Nogales, AZ, announced changes to the sales staff starting with the fall-winter vegetable season. Malena sales executive Danny Stoller will take over as sales manager for the company's full product line. Saul Gonzalez joins the Malena sales team as senior sales executive. Mr. Stoller has been with the company for two years and has 27 years of experience in the produce industry. "His responsibilities include creating marketing plans for retail, wholesale and foodservice customers as well as helping the company continue to build its overall business," Gonzalo Avila

WASHINGTON -- House and Senate negotiators agreed Oct. 26 to delay the controversial mandatory country-of-origin program another two years for all commodities except seafood. If it gains final approval, the bill would not require grocers to display origin labeling for fresh fruits and vegetables until September 2008. "We are pleased with the delay because the existing law is so untenable," said Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association. But this doesn't fix anything, she said. "This is not a panacea or a silver bullet." Leaders in the produce industry have been working on a compromise

Hardly a week goes by without hearing about concerns from local domestic producers about the negative impact of consolidation and the lack of support from their customers, notably retailers, for the domestic industry - not just here in Canada but worldwide. What is also interesting is how folks determine what is local and domestic. Local to one producer often takes on a different definition depending on where he or she lives and what he or she sees as "their" market. In Canada, each provincial government is urging customers to support their own domestic sector. Yet within the same province

New Zealand cuisine took center stage recently at the Culinary Institute of America, when about 150 future chefs at the prestigious Hyde Park, NY, campus attended a New Zealand food and beverage master class featuring Zespri green and gold kiwifruit. The two-evening class, "New Thinking, New Zealand," brought together the flavors for which the South Pacific country is renowned. Experts on kiwifruit, venison, shellfish, apples and wine shared key culinary information, while New Zealand chefs Grant Jackson and Graham Brown prepared signature dishes. For Zespri, it was an opportunity to expose

Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci announced that Robert W. Spear would be stepping down as commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food & Rural Resources. "During Bob's tenure as commissioner, he has shepherded the department's development of some bold and important programs, whether Senior Farm Share, Farms for the Future, or the dairy stabilization," Gov. Baldacci said in a statement. "Maine's farmers have certainly benefited from his leadership and I have enjoyed working with him." "I'm really proud of what we accomplished with a dedicated staff: Farm Share, irrigation, Farms for the