Dave Nelson, vice president of sales for Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers, headquartered in Bard, CA, told The Produce News it is a fully integrated cooperative with about nine growers that produce the Medjool variety date.

“The growers own their land, packing house and facilities,” said Mr. Nelson. “We ship under the well-known ‘Natural Delights’ label. We’ve been in business for 20 years, and we have produced organic dates during that entire time.”

Addie Pobst, import coordinator and food safety officer for CF Fresh, said the company’s success is built upon solid ground. “One hundred percent of what we do is organic fresh fruits and vegetables,” she told The Produce News on May 22. “We can certainly say organics is not a fad.”

Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager for Giorgio Fresh in Temple, PA, said that even during the worst of the economic downturn over the past few years, the company’s organic sales thrived.

“Our organic blueberry program has taken a significant expansion into Oregon this year,” Scott Mabs, director of marketing for Homegrown Organic Farms in Strathmore, CA, told The Produce News. “A few years ago we purchased a ranch in Oregon and started transitioning it to organic. This is the first year it’s producing certified organic blues.”

Maurice A. Auerbach in Secaucus, NJ, is a third-generation family-owned business that started distributing garlic during World War II. In the 1970s, it expanded its product line to include a variety of produce sourced from around the world. It specializes in garlic, shallots and other specialty items such as tropical and Asian, and it handles organic garlic, shallots and tofu.

U.S. Sens. James E. Risch (R-ID) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) joined Frank Muir, president and chief executive officer of the Idaho Potato Commission, to welcome the Great Big Idaho Potato Truck when it rolled into Washington, DC, for a special appearance in front of the the U.S. Capitol Building.