Bill Maker III, a salesman at Monterey, CA-based FoodSource, died Aug. 6 at age 45 of an undisclosed cause. He was a resident of Salinas, CA.

Mr. Maker was born May 2, 1962, in Salinas. He left some impressive footsteps to follow for younger brothers Mike and Wyatt, the latter a commodity manager at Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms.

The Produce Exchange, based in Livermore, CA, has launched a web site for the "Emeril" brand line of products. The Produce Exchange is the exclusive sales, marketing and distributing agent for the brand.

The web site is separate from the www.emerils.com site that Chef Emeril Lagasse uses for his overall business.

Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, CA, announced Aug. 13 that it has entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Agricola Belher, a major grower of tomatoes in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

The initiative will "further enhance" Calavo's "diversified fresh products business with the planned introduction of 'Calavo' brand tomatoes late this fall," the release stated. "In conjunction with the agreement, the Mexican company will be making substantial investments in infrastructure to support the new program."

U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services Mike Leavitt, FDA Commissioner Andrew Von Eschenbach and Associate FDA Commissioner Margaret Glavin toured the Del Monte Fresh port facility in Camden, NJ, Aug. 6 as part of a two-week tour of imported-food facilities around the country.

When shoppers enter the Porricelli's Food Mart in Old Greenwich, CT, the first thing they see is a display of fresh produce. This display, which changes every week, spotlights special promotional items as well as the most seasonal items available, inviting shoppers into the main aisles of the produce department.

In mid- and late summer, fresh fruits and vegetables from the retailer's home state of Connecticut take center stage on both the opening display and in the rest of the expansive produce department.

Extremely cold weather in Peru has delayed the asparagus crop, but U.S. importers expect heavy volume to start by mid- to late-August and total import to be up 12-15 percent this year.