Someone once said, "What's old is new again." Reviving a unique harvesting technique originally launched a decade ago, Salinas-based Tanimura & Antle has reintroduced its "Field-Fresh" wrapped leaf lettuce for one simple reason: buying segment demand.

Organic mushrooms satisfy consumers’ desire for great value and quality, according to Giorgio Fresh. The company, a leading grower and shipper of fresh mushrooms, headquartered in Temple, PA, became a certified organic grower on March 11, 2004.

“We offer garlic in a variety of forms: whole bulb, peeled, diced, VakPak, frozen and shelf stable puree form,” said Michael Layous, sales and marketing representative for The Garlic Co. headquartered in Bakersfield, CA. “And all these forms can be made with organic product. We sell the majority of our garlic in peeled and whole bulb form. This holds true for our organic products as well.”

The California cantaloupe industry has adopted a mandatory government-inspected food-safety program.

"We have the only mandatory program in the produce industry that invites government auditors in to inspect the operations," John Gilstrap, manager of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board in Dinuba, CA, told The Produce News. "That is what the board's main focus is this year."

Marilyn Dolan, vice president of The Marketing Department and a consultant to the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, elaborated on the program.

Country Sweet Produce is a fairly young marketing company that continues to make strides every year to improve the quality and efficiency of delivering every type of onion to the industry. Country Sweet is a sister company to Valpredo Farms, longtime Bakersfield vegetable growers.

“We will be shipping onions of all colors and all sizes, all summer long in conventional, organic and sweet onions,” Country Sweet Produce President Michael Valpredo said.

By adding acreage to the organic program, Country Sweet will also be shipping organic onions through August.

Saven Corp., headquartered in Savannah, GA, has been producing flat yellow Vidalia-type sweet onions for around 26 years under the “Oso Sweet” brand. It now offers “Oso Sweet” onions year-round, with production in various Northern and Southern Hemisphere growing areas. “This is our second year in California in the Central Valley deal,” said Mark Breimeister, a shareholder in the company and national sales director.