“We recently added stuffed Baby Bellas with three different stuffings,” said Bill Litvin, senior vice president of sales for Giorgio Fresh, headquartered in Blandon, PA. “They are cheese and imitation bacon, imitation crab, and artichoke and spinach. This new line is currently available in retail packaging, and the foodservice packaging was launched at the PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo in July.”

Litvin added that the new stuffed Baby Bellas definitely spice up the company’s product line. And the different stuffings are sure to satisfy every consumer palate.

Innovative school meal solutions — like mushroom meatballs — were “served up” on Wednesday, July 23 as the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry examined the challenge of feeding America’s school children.

A press release from the American Mushroom Institute in Washington, DC, dated July 24 stated that the hearing featured testimony from school foodservice directors from Mississippi, Michigan and Kentucky as Congress debates the current nutrition guidelines and begins preparation for the reauthorization of school nutrition programs in 2015.

Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac announced Robert Prystash as its new vice president of continuous improvement.

In his new position, Prystash will lead transformation initiatives and continue to progress Ready Pac’s culture of continuous improvement. He will report directly to Peter Laport, chief supply chain officer at Ready Pac.

The California Avocado Commission has extended its program promoting the use of California avocados at breakfast with retail support materials, public relations outreach featuring registered dietitians spokespersons and digital media.

Participating retailers distributed a recipe booklet titled Wake up to Breakfast, featuring simple, produce-rich recipes and nutrition information. In addition to being merchandised with California avocado display bins, supermarket registered dietitians have utilized the booklets in their in-store education programs, demos and cooking classes.

After literally years of discussions, and with a deadline only hours away, California lawmakers forged a compromise the night of Aug. 13 to put a more than $7 billion water bond on the November ballot.

The compromise was reached just hours before the midnight deadline imposed to grant sufficient time for ballots to be printed and mailed prior to the election.

C&K Market previewed what customers can expect in the future as it emerged from bankruptcy protection on Aug. 10. Stores will emphasize local produce, including more organic items and a larger selection of general merchandise offerings. Some stores will also see the addition of salad bars, hot prepared food options and sushi.