Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo is gaining excellent momentum from its infrastructure rebuilding and crop replanting efforts initiated after the devastation from Hurricane Odile’s direct hit to Baja in the fall of 2014.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a bill this week that would merge all food-safety-related programs across 15 agencies into a single, independent food-safety agency.

The two lawmakers have introduced the bill before with little success, but they’re hoping to gain support from fiscally conservative members of the new GOP-controlled Congress.

Avocados from Mexico became the first fresh produce brand to broadcast an ad during the Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1 during the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

Though some reports indicated that there could be a supply gap for strawberries in early February that would affect Valentine’s Day, industry representatives in both Florida and California do not expect that to be the case.

“Supplies should be adequate,” said Shawn Pollard, who sits on the sales desk for Astin Strawberry Exchange LLC in Plant City, FL. “We are going to have good supplies, but there won’t be a lot of extra berries available. Ninety percent of what we will have [for the Valentine’s Day pull] is pre-sold.”

The Albertsons-Safeway merger, first announced in March 2014, was completed Jan. 30. Under the terms of the agreement Albertsons will acquire all outstanding shares of Safeway. In December, the companies announced the sale of 168 stores to four separate buyers, as divestitures required in order to secure U.S. Federal Trade Commission approval of the transaction.

United Fresh has opened the nomination period for the 2015 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program, which honors the foodservice industry’s most innovative produce performers.

The program, sponsored by PRO*ACT LLC since its launch in 2008, has honored 37 different chefs and foodservice operators for their exceptional work in incorporating fresh produce in menu development, proper food safety and handling, engaging in community outreach and building an overall positive dining experience with fresh produce as a centerpiece.