The new year brought a new crop of Piñata apples to grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada. This marks the third season that Piñata, a Stemilt Growers exclusive apple variety, has been widely available.

Sometime this month, researchers at the Institute of Food Technologists will launch two pilot projects for the Food & Drug Administration as an early step in developing traceability standards for agriculture.

The two projects will specifically deal with fresh-market tomatoes and a complex processed food product that includes chicken, though the eventual standards will apply to a wide range of agricultural goods.

Dole is out to make it socially acceptable to go bananas every day.

Undeterred that close to 90 percent of U.S. households already purchase bananas regularly - one of the highest penetrations of any supermarket item - the produce giant is challenging all Americans to make bananas part of their daily routine in 2012.

Dayka & Hackett LLC, a Reedley, CA-based grower and distributor of table grapes, collaborated with Disney On Ice and Jewel-Osco stores in Chicago to run a successful promotion that encouraged kids to eat more grapes.

Mann Packing is expanding its sales staff in Canada with the addition of Ben Alviano, who joins the company as a national account manager, a Jan. 5 press release stated.

Mr. Alviano brings to Mann a rich sales and marketing background that includes time spent at the Pepsi Bottling Group, Proctor & Gamble and Magna International.