Orange, CA-based Interfresh Inc., a national supplier of fruits and vegetables, announced the addition of Stuart Smith to its sales staff in San Bruno, CA, effective April 7.

With the objective of making Vidalia-type sweet onions available when the true Vidalia onions were not in season, Saven Corp. in Savannah, GA, 25 years ago, began growing sweet onions in Chile during the winter and marketing them in the United States under the “Oso Sweet” trademark.

“Our program is growing by leaps and bounds,” Louie Galvan, a partner in Delano, CA-based Fruit Royale told The Produce News April 1, referring to the company’s involvement in the Mexican grape deal.

“We are actually tripling our numbers from last year,” he said. “We have brought on a couple of sizeable growers, and we are making some moves to get involved in the growing process down there as well. We will have a sizeable deal.”

All of the company’s grapes from Mexico will ship out of Nogales, AZ, he said.

The ribbon is cut at Wakefern's newest warehouse facility in Elizabeth, NJ, during an April 17 ceremony.Making a return to its roots, Wakefern Food Corp.

Working with a handful of growers and shippers, two major paper manufacturers and the National Watermelon Promotions Board, the National Watermelon Association has created a new bin that it hopes will gain traction at retail as the primary vehicle to represent the watermelon industry.

Six leaders of the Texas produce industry will be honored April 28 at the 2014 Texas Produce Hall of Fame Banquet.

The Produce Hall of Fame was established in 1988 and has since presented 134 living and posthumous awards and 17 Scott Toothaker Awards to men and women who have contributed a large part of their lives to the betterment of the Texas produce industry.