Peter Condakes Co. Inc. has locations at both the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, and at the Boston Market Terminal in Everett, MA.

Peter John Condakes, president of the company, told The Produce News that the two terminal markets are just “a stone’s throw” apart.

“But when tossed, that stone crosses over the town borders and county lines,” said Condakes.

The 110-plus-year-old company continues to carry all of the major conventional commodities except potatoes, onions and watermelons.

Ken Gad, owner of Cambridge Farms in South Easton, ME, proudly announced to The Produce News that his oldest son, 25-year-old, Jay Gad, joined the company in April as the director of business development.

“Jay is our fifth-generation ‘potato head,’ and is aggressively seeking long-term programs as well as developing new marketing partners,” said Gad. “He is also developing ways to make our company more attractive to the industry that will give new customers a reason to join our program.”

Ready Pac Foods Inc. announced Oct. 22 that Tony Sarsam will serve as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately. The hiring of Sarsam concludes a thorough search process that began earlier this year following the announcement of the retirement of Ready Pac's former CEO, Michael Solomon.

It has, in general, been a very good growing season for California citrus, according to industry sources, and that is creating good quality crops with exceptional flavor characteristics.

In the Navels, the crop volume is expected to be down from last year and down a bit from the average of the last several years, but with larger fruit sizes than a year ago and earlier-than-normal maturity.

Midwest retailer Meijer operates one of the largest all-clean diesel fleets in North America. As part of its ongoing green initiatives, the Grand Rapids, MI-based retailer’s fleet utilized innovative technology to improve fuel efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint by nearly 60 percent since it first began implementing the U.S.

Baloian Farms recently introduced a value-added new product in the fresh veg category featuring yellow and green squash with a seasoning packet included. The new product is expected to drive a higher margin and new sales in the vegetable category year-round.