Chef Sokun and her husband, Guillaume Slama, own five successful restaurants in North Carolina. But their journey to this point is one that reaps of hardship, determination and what Guillaume calls “positive karma.”

Chef Sokun’s story starts in 1975 when her parents and three of their four children, including Sokun, were forced to flee to the jungle during the chaos as the Khmer Rouge went on a killing rampage.

Bill Litvin Sr., vice president of sales for Giorgio Fresh, headquartered in Blandon, PA, said the company will be featuring its new line of stuffed Baby Bellas as well as its line of organic mushrooms at Booth No. 438 at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit.

“These are our newest products,” said Litvin. “Giorgio offers a variety of tasty stuffed Baby Bella mushrooms, including cheese and imitation bacon bits, imitation flavored crab and Parmesan cheese, and artichokes and spinach. They are packed four, 8.5-ounce to a carton.”

BALTIMORE — Maryland-based East Coast Fresh Cuts and Mars Super Markets, the first supplier-retailer team to jump on board the "eat brighter" campaign, showcased fresh produce branded with Sesame Street characters Sept. 24 at a Baltimore store alongside students from a nearby elementary school.

The 'eat brighter!' movement offers royalty-free access to Sesame Street characters and was forged by Produce Marketing Association, Sesame Workshop and the Partnership for a Healthier America.

“In addition to our 100 percent daily value vitamin D mushrooms in all white and brown packages, Monterey has recently introduced a new fresh stuffed mushroom line,” said Joe Caldwell, vice president of Monterey Mushrooms Inc., headquartered in Watsonville, CA. “These are currently in limited distribution. They include spinach artichoke, onion cheddar and pizza-flavored varieties in both Portabellas and Baby Bella options.”

Fred Recchiuti, general manager of Avondale, PA-based Basciani Mushroom Farms, told The Produce News that the company continues to work diligently on its food-safety audit and related initiatives.

Basciani’s most recent third-party quality assurance and HACCP audit score was 99.24 percent, said Recchiuti. And it continues to be keenly conscious of sustainability as it continually looks for ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

After only 10 years in business, Mike and Mikes Inc. has seen substantial growth, resulting in a $1 million investment into rebranding, expanding and repackaging.

As of September 2014, the company will be called Mike and Mikes Organics.

Its Woodbridge, Ontario, facility will double in size to 43,000 square feet.

The company’s secondary brand, Organic Select, will be retired and all products will be sold under the Mike and Mikes Organics™ brand name. This includes nuts, dried fruits and mixed fruit and nuts.