The Fresh Produce & Floral Council held its annual dinner dance at the Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday, Jan. 25, with a crowd of more than 500 guests in attendance.

As a leader in West Coast pepper product, Baloian Farms has recently expanded its production possibilities with a new line of equipment designed to process mini peppers.

The new equipment, purchased in the spring of 2013, can serve multiple purposes — its main position will be for packing mini sweet peppers, but will also work for packing baby Bells and hot chilies as well.

Columbine Vineyards, based in Delano, CA, announced the hire of Ryan Debuskey to its sales department on Jan. 15.

Debuskey comes to Columbine with over 15 years experience in the table grape industry.

In his new role, Debuskey will help further develop the company’s growing portfolio of domestic and export accounts.

To announce personnel changes at your company, please contact Assistant Editor Maggie Giuffrida at 201/986-7990, ext. 110, or [email protected]. Photos are encouraged.

The Organic Trade Association is the North American membership-based trade association whose mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy. It is the leading voice for organic trade in the United States, representing over 6,500 organic businesses across 49 states.

Some substantial and much-needed rain in the Rio Grande Valley have perked up the Texas citrus crop and has made for a busy first half of the season, said Trent Bishop, vice president of sales at Lone Star Citrus Growers in Mission, TX.

“It has been a good season for us in Texas so far,” Bishop said. “We’ve had some timely rains, the quality of the fruit is really nice, the support from the retail sector has been consistent, and we’ve been able to maintain a nice market.”

Sunkist Growers is kicking off 2014 with a promotion to help consumers "peel away the pounds."

Teaming up with NBC's hit series "The Biggest Loser," Sunkist is launching a national sweepstakes offering consumers a chance to win one of two trips to The Biggest Loser Resort, an award-winning immersive weight-loss program with locations in Chicago, Ivins, UT, Malibu, CA, and Niagara, NY.