After a long battle with cancer, Otto Robert (Bob) Matousek, who was a member of the produce industry for about 30 years and who was most recently with Cobbtown, GA-based Plantation Sweets for three years, died July 1 at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility. Born Oct. 10, 1952, in Homestead, FL, Mr. Matousek resided with his wife of 20 years, Betty Browder Matousek, in Statesboro, GA. He earned his bachelor's degree from Florida Technical University in Orlando in 1974 and his master's degree in science in management from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, in 1976. An avid bicycle

RIVERHEAD, NY -- The sales staff at Fresh from the Start LLC is gearing up to do what it does best: provide the highest quality Maine broccoli to its retail and foodservice customers. Now in its 11th year, Fresh from the Start, a division of ADS Management LLC, based here, expects to begin shipping broccoli July 17 from its longtime grower in Caribou, ME. "We take a lot of pride in this deal -- it's where our roots are," Eric Scannelli, Fresh from the Start's sales manager, told The Produce News June 15. "It looks like it is going to be a good year. Demand is strong even before the season

New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus and the New Jersey Restaurant Association unveiled a new signage program that will notify restaurant patrons that the Garden State's bounty is being served in an establishment. Over the next few weeks, signs will be going up in New Jersey restaurants that proclaim they are "proud to serve New Jersey- produced-and-harvested products when in season." The signage will appear as customers enter a restaurant and will bear the "Jersey Fresh" and "Jersey Seafood" logos. Pictured on the signs is a plate with a New Jersey seafood entr?e and Jersey

With a theme of "Health Odyssey," the 2006 Fresh Produce & Floral Council Expo is expected to attract more than 1,000 attendees to hear the latest on nutrition information and peruse the booths of 170 exhibitors. The one-day event will be held July 11 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, CA, beginning at 7 a.m. with the Retail/Foodservice Education Seminar and the concurrent Floral Education Seminar. The Retail/Foodservice Seminar will be conducted by a distinguished panel of guests who have been asked to provide specific information that can be incorporated into the job of every retailer and

LOS ANGELES -- Some are calling it the British Invasion. First the Beatles, now this. Tesco, the largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, is planning a major move into the U.S. market, beginning in Southern California and Arizona in 2007. The company made the announcement on Feb. 9, and it is a development that is certain to change the retail landscape here, although just what the nature of the impact will be remains to be seen. Tesco, which dominates the British market with a 30 percent market share and is the world's fifth largest retailer, plans an initial capital expenditure of up

DELTA, CO -- With a short monthlong window from mid-June to mid-July, sweet cherries from Colorado's Western Slope were hitting good volume during the third week of June. According to Mike Gibson and Harold Broughton of United Marketing Exchange in Delta, CO, the crop was shaping up nicely as harvest neared, and he said that demand was very good. United Marketing Exchange handles sales for Antelope Hill Orchards, a family operation overseen by Jim Hulteen. Markets for the Delta County-grown cherries, which run four-to-one Bings over Rainiers, are largely within Colorado and the surrounding