Bi-Lo Holdings will be closing 23 Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie stores due to poor performance. These locations, most of which will be shuttered on or before Nov. 19, represent less than 3 percent of the total store base.

“With much of our attention during the last two years placed on merging 207 Bi-Lo and 480 Winn-Dixie stores, and integrating 163 acquired Delhaize America stores, we purposely delayed what is normally an ongoing process of reviewing our network of stores,” Julianne Roberts, who handles corporate communications, told The Produce News.

Yakima, WA-based Holtzinger Fruit Co. has hired Paul Montmeny, a retail and produce sales veteran, as its sales manager. Montmeny comes to Holtzinger with more than 25 years in the apple and berry industries.

Grimmway Farms, based in Bakersfield, CA, introduced its new line of "TRUE" organic juices to meet the needs of consumers in the super premium organic juice category.

Powered by Grimmway's Cal-Organic farming operation, "TRUE" blends Cal-Organic vegetables with a variety of organic fruits for a line of premium organic juice smoothies.

Tom Lange Co. has opened a citrus-packing facility. Located in California's San Joaquin Valley, the Porterville-based Seven Seas Packers division is an established citrus-production facility specializing in high-quality oranges, lemons, grapefruit, as well as other citrus products.

The Center for Produce Safety announced 14 new grant awards valued at $2.8 million. The research awards are directed at answering critical questions in specific areas of food-safety practices for fruit, vegetable and tree nut production; pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest handling; and co-management of food safety and the environment. The objective is to provide the produce industry with practical, translatable research data that can be used at all levels of the supply chain.

RedLine Solutions, a leader in produce traceability and inventory solutions located in Santa Clara, CA, announced a new cutting-edge application, "RedLine Receipt," that enables companies to quickly and accurately receive harvested bulk products and update inventory information in grower accounting systems.