“We are going to have a pretty good sized stem-and-leaf program this year,” Jeff Olsen, president of The Chuck Olsen Co. in Visalia, CA, said in an interview with The Produce News. That is something “we haven’t had in the past,” so it will be “new for us in the Mandarins.”

The company also has acreage increases in its Mandarin production this year, with the harvest expected to start in early November in the San Joaquin Valley of California.

The Chuck Olsen Co. also expected to start Navel oranges in the San Joaquin Valley around the same time, followed by lemons.

Suntreat Packing & Shipping Co. in Lindsay, CA, which was founded by brothers Harry Griffith and John Griffith, has been in the business of growing and packing citrus in California for more than half a century. Recently, the company, which grows several select varieties of specialty citrus in addition to lemons and Navel oranges, introduced the “Suntreat Reserve Citrus” label, which it reserves for its finest and best-tasting fruit.

Pear Bureau Northwest is launching a new consumer advertising campaign this season, using print ads to help boost pear consumption and increase the total number of pear consumers.

Bailey Farms Inc. in Oxford, NC, is voluntarily recalling 6,215 pounds of fresh Serrano chile peppers due to a risk of Salmonella contamination.

The peppers were distributed to Meijer Inc. and may have been sold between Oct. 14 and Oct. 19 at Meijer stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

In addition, the peppers were distributed to Publix Super Markets Inc., Merchants Distributors Inc., Walmart, Food Lion, Flavor 1st Growers & Packers, U.S. Foods, Military Produce Group LLC., C&S Wholesalers, John Vena Inc. and Harris Teeter.

On the day that the Produce Marketing Association’s 2014 Fresh Summit opened, Bryan Silbermann, PMA chief executive officer, promised it would be the most well-attended event in the history of the organization. His educated guess proved accurate, as the association announced that a new record of more than 22,400 people attended the three-day event.

On Sept. 7, Trent Bishop, sales manager of Lone Star Citrus Growers in Mission, TX, told The Produce News that there was some rain in the south Texas forecast, and the trees needed it. Three weeks later, he could be forgiven if he said “Enough already!”

“Over the last 20 days of September, we got 15 inches of rain,” he said in mid-October. “It is a very good thing for the long term viability of the crop, but we would have liked to have been able to get in and pick some fruit a bit earlier.”