Carlos Cortes Sr., the grower who commercially introduced organic bananas to the United States in 1974, has died. Mr. Cortes was the father of Mayra Velazquez de León, president and CEO of Organics Unlimited and GROW.

In 1974, Mr. Cortes founded the Mexican-American Fruit Co., better known as MexAm. He began marketing organic bananas, which was an industry first for the U.S. market.

¡Yo Quiero! Brands, a Texas-based avocado, guacamole and dip company, is launching a new line of refrigerated Elote Corn Dips, just in time for Super Bowl weekend and the many parties that accompany that annual football event.

SpartanNash is expanding its distribution footprint with new operations out of a facility in Stockton, CA. The expansion — executed through SpartanNash's long-standing partnership with Coastal Pacific Food Distributors Inc. — enhances SpartanNash's coast-to-coast supply chain capabilities, in addition to supporting the company's Environmental, Social and Governance priority to reduce fleet mileage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Topashaw Farms has been a leader in growing and distributing sweet potatoes for more than 30 years, but last year saw the company take a new step in growing its own foundation seed.

“You actually start the seed from a seed, not a plant, in a greenhouse, and you take the cuttings from that, put in the field and that’s how you get your foundation plants,” said Joe Edmondson, owner of Topashaw Farms, which is headquartered in Vardaman, MS.

Strawberries have been tight for the past couple of months. This has made it difficult for retailers to meet their berry sales versus last year. Florida has been the main supplier thus far, placing pressure on the demand. But there is some relief in sight as California and Mexico will start to improve by harvesting more volume.

EverCrisp, a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji, is a late-season apple that stores well and is long-lasting, boasting even better quality coming out of storage. The variety shares the sweet and crisp qualities of its parent varieties and can last for weeks without refrigeration.

This sweet, juicy and firm apple has been an instant hit among apple lovers. It can be found in major grocery stores across the Midwest as well is the eastern and southern parts of the U.S.