William Garin, heralded as one the early and top promoters of Iceberg lettuce, died of natural causes Oct. 9 at his home in Salinas, CA. He was 84. Mr. Garin was instrumental in starting Western Iceberg Lettuce Inc., at first a promotional organization concentrating on public relations promotion of Iceberg lettuce to food editors, home economics teachers and major advertisers on tie-in promotions. The Western Iceberg League, which became California the Iceberg Lettuce Commission in 1978, continued the job of promoting the consumption of Iceberg lettuce to the public. Mr. Garin was an active

There will be no rush to fill the position recently vacated by Tim Debus, who recently resigned from the International Banana Association to take a position with IFCO Systems. The IBA contracted with United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association in Washington, DC, to manage the banana group when Robert Moore retired in 1999 after heading the IBA for decades. Tom Stenzel, president of United, told The Produce News Oct. 12 that IBA chose to have a large organization like United involved in its management so that the banana association wouldn't be so heavily dependent on one person. Mr. Debus was an

Monterey Mushrooms, the largest branded grower, shipper and marketer of fresh mushrooms in the United States, announced that Craig See has joined its sales team as sales manager for the Pacific Northwest and western Canada regions, effective Sept. 12. He replaces Harry DeTurk, who retired from the company in July. Mr. See has been in the produce business for the past eight years in various sales and management capacities with Impact Sales, Avo-Mex, Food Tech International and, most recently, International Herbs in Surrey, BC. Scott Harrington, Monterey's director of sales for the Western

Global Berry Farms LLC, headquartered in Naples, FL, is for the first time ever offering "Naturipe" brand organic cranberries to its customers. The cranberries will be grown and packed by Sandhill Cranberry Inc. in Wisconsin, a leading fresh organic cranberry grower in the country. The berries will be available from October through December. This is a great addition to our product line, John Shelford, president of Global Berry Farms, said in a statement. Packed with nutrients and antioxidants, cranberries are becoming a great choice for the health-conscious consumer. And there continues to

SunFed, a grower, packer, shipper and distributor based in Rio Rico, AZ, has hired Jorge Ruiz, previously with Farmer's Best International, in the newly created position of chief financial officer. Danny Mandel, president of SunFed, made the announcement Oct. 3. Mr. Mandel told The Produce News that Mr. Ruiz "is going to be a great asset to our team." According to a SunFed press release, Mr. Ruiz arrives at SunFed after having spent the past seven years with Farmers Best. During his tenure there, he took on both operative and administrative roles and played an integral part in the management

Produce Marketing Association research shows that overall, 43 percent of consumers said that they purchase prepared meals from their supermarket. Moreover, 30 percent of consumers say they make more of those purchases today than they did a year ago, replacing what they would have traditionally purchased at a restaurant. Out of 1,000 consumers surveyed nationwide, over half (53 percent) said that in the past year, they purchased "ready-to-eat meals or foods" from a supermarket, 46 percent said that they did so rather than eating restaurant take-out over the past year. Of this group, 10 percent