On Aug. 6, Charlie Eagle, vice president of business development for Southern Specialties, headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, explained to The Produce News that in 2001, in response to inquiries from the foodservice community, the company became involved in growing and shipping heirloom tomatoes.

“Chefs have been and continue to seek heirlooms for their intense tomato flavor, unique shapes and appealing colors,” said Eagle. “We are still shipping heirlooms. Our tomato line includes baby heirlooms, baby beefsteaks and other specialty tomatoes, such as yellow tomatoes.”

The Produce Marketing Association revealed the PMA Impact Award finalists for 2014. PMA's Impact Award: Excellence in Packaging is a global program recognizing companies that use innovation and excellence in packaging to maximize the selling of fresh produce and floral. This award recognizes trendsetters that create and deliver bold new concepts for produce and floral packaging.

The award attracted 67 entries submitted by 56 companies. Twenty of those submissions have been identified as program finalists. Winners will be announced Oct. 17 at Fresh Summit in Anaheim, CA.

Belleharvest Sales, Inc., headquartered in Belding, MI, is continuing to develop its apple program toward the high-flavor varieties that are increasingly in consumer demand, according to Chris Sandwick, Belleharvest’s vice president of sales and marketing. Varieties headlining this effort are Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala and Topaz.

The Topaz is an heirloom red, round apple, which has some russeting, he said. “It sizes up nicely and fits the profile for retail,” he noted.  

The National Association of Produce Market Managers will hold a regional retail meeting at the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids, MI, Oct. 23-25.

Crop estimates for Michigan’s apple production need to come with an asterisk, suggested Roger Kropf, owner of Core Farms LLC, located in Hartford, MI.

There can be estimates for total production. But the real question is, how much fruit will be harvested if Michigan has a labor shortage, as occurred in 2013?

Even if fruit is eventually harvested in November, as mostly occurred last year, the quality of late-harvested fruit is below that of a timely harvest, Kropf said.

The Produce Marketing Association Foundation for Industry Talent’s mission is to attract, develop and retain talent. The High Performance Management Conference is one of several programs in the “develop” portion, providing professional development opportunities for employees in produce and floral companies worldwide.