Avocado squeezers, lime sniffers and apple lovers searching displays for perfectly ripe fruit may not be long for the produce aisles. Consumers seeking produce at the peak of its freshness now have a simpler, more reliable option: go to a retailer selling Apeel produce.

Monterey Mushrooms is celebrating its 50th anniversary in business. Company owner Shah Kazemi, who started as an employee himself, purchased the business in 1971 when it was a single mushroom farm in California. Today the company grows packs and ships mushrooms from nine farms in seven states and Mexico. Its 4,000 employees grow, pack and ship more than 200 million pounds of fresh mushrooms annually.

Church Brothers has hired Gurjit Shergill as its vice president of food safety, quality and regulatory compliance. Shergill has more than 20 years of experience in food safety and technical services, most recently for Earthbound Farms as vice president of food safety and quality.

The Organic Grower Summit presented by Western Growers and OPN will honor long-time organic grower Jeff Huckaby as the recipient of the fifth annual Grower of the Year Award. Huckaby, president and CEO of Grimmway Farms, was selected based on his ongoing commitment and dedication to excellence in organic production, organic industry leadership, and innovation.

Piggly Wiggly Midwest stores has partnered with Focal Systems, an industry leader in retail automation. Piggly Wiggly Midwest will be piloting the Focal Operating System in its Wisconsin and Illinois stores. FocalOS digitizes the entire store in order to automate and optimize ordering, inventory management, merchandising and in-store labor with the objective to deliver a better experience to customers.

Local Bounti launched its chef-inspired, grab-and-go salads utilizing its own sustainably and locally grown lettuces. The company continues to deploy its state-of-the-art growing techniques to achieve sustainability metrics, while ultimately unlocking superior products for consumers to enjoy.