Kerr resigns from Premium Fresh to resume consulting business
Cynthia Kerr, director of marketing and new product development for Premium Fresh Farms LLC in Salinas, CA, resigned her position effective July 1 to relaunch her consulting business, Kerr Consulting Group.
"Premium Fresh Farms gave me an excellent opportunity to establish their marketing department. I really enjoyed contributing to business development within the buying group and national account communities," she stated.
Ralph's cited for false advertising of grapes
Ralph's Grocery Co., a division of The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati and two chains it operates have been cited for state violations in stores in California for falsely advertising grapes grown in Mexico as California-grown grapes.
The first set of infractions involves 48 Food 4 Less and Foods Co. stores. The infractions involved advertisements that went out in June 29 store fliers and on the Food 4 Less/Foods Co. web site that show seedless green grapes selling for 67 cents a pound -- well below the market for California-grown seedless green grapes.
Racing fan setting the pace at Caliman International
With his easygoing demeanor and soft-spoken words, it's hard to believe that Andres Ocampo can thrive in the sometimes-cutthroat world of produce. But Mr. Ocampo, who is director of operations for the Plantation, FL-based Caliman International, has other qualities that enable him to lead the burgeoning company on its path of prosperity.
Zambito Produce relocates offices
Zambito Produce Sales moved July 1 from its Audubon, NJ, office to Woodbury, NJ.
Chuck Zambito, company owner, said that the company will have more space in a modernized building. "I will still go to the Philadelphia market every day" to buy produce for his brokerage business, Mr. Zambito said. The company's new address is 44 Cooper St., Suite A, Woodbury, NJ 08096. The new phone number will be 856/686-4810, and the new fax number will be 856/686-4811.
New state-of-the-art facilities will fuel growth for Dovex
Dovex Marketing Co., based in Wenatchee, WA, is expanding its facilities to include new controlled atmosphere facilities and advanced packinglines.
Company management said that the expansion will help the company support flexible packaging systems and customized organic programs.
"The construction of the new facilities reflect the implementation of Dovex's strategic direction to differentiate itself in the marketplace," said Tracy King, director of marketing at Dovex Marketing Co., which represents organic and conventionally grown fruit for Dovex Fruit Co.
Gills Onions promotes whole peeled onions with new sales support team
Produce industry veteran Andy Siegel has teamed with Oxnard, CA-based Gills Onions to support the company's growing product lines. Mr. Siegel and his national sales team of Chicago-based Fresh Connect will support Gills Onions on a national level with sales training, sales meetings and trade show support.
Citrus canker discovered at University of Florida research center
The Florida citrus industry was delivered yet another blow June 30 when canker disease was discovered in trees at the University of Florida citrus research grove at UF's Indian River Research & Education Center near Fort Pierce.
It is the very place where research and study is conducted on ways to stop the disease.
The find means that more than 10,000 citrus trees on approximately 100 acres will be cut down and burned to prevent further spread of canker spores.
Produce industry mourns loss of Mann Packing's Joe Nucci
"Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill."
-- Robert Louis Stevenson, from his poem "Requiem"
To add to the poet's words: The produce man is home from the field. Joe Nucci died in his sleep late July 6 or early on the morning of July 7, leaving behind a loving family and a trail of friends from an industry he helped make better.
Mr. Nucci, president and chief executive officer of Salinas, CA-based Mann Packing Co. Inc., died of an undetected heart condition while vacationing with his family in Florida. He was 40 years old.
Solar energy system fuels cold storage facility at P-R Farms
CLOVIS, CA -- It was "the right thing to do" and it made good economic sense, Pat Ricchiuti, owner of P-R Farms, said in explaining his reasons for installing a $6.4 million solar energy system on the roof of the company's 150,000-square-foot packing and cold storage facility here.
The system, which will generate approximately one megawatt of power and supply up to 60 percent of the facilitys electricity needs at peak usage, incorporates 7,730 solar panels, which almost completely cover the roof of the facility. Each panel measures 40 inches by 48 inches.
Discovery Garden's ramps up production of Sierra Gold potatoes
Oakdale, CA-based Discovery Garden's has ramped up production of its Sierra Gold gourmet potatoes.
Discovery Gardens, a subsidiary of California Oregon Seed Co. in Bakersfield, has added potato acreage by leaps and bounds in each of the past four years, with 410 acres in production this year and year-round production. The companys 71 acres in the Bakersfield area were harvested in June.
Discovery Gardens is in a joint partnership with Edison, CA-based King Pak, which grows, packs and ships the potatoes. King Pak is owned by Bakersfield-based Grimmway Farms.