“There is a lot of excitement going on at Basciani Mushroom Farms these days,” Fred Recchiuti, general manager of the Avondale, PA-based company told The Produce News. “Our new ‘Produce Pro’ software is up and running, and it’s an amazing system. It allows us to mock recalls that puts us through exercises in case there is ever an unlikely situation. I can trace back to the room the mushrooms were produced and forward to every customer that received from that lot, and I can do it in 15 minutes.”

After experiencing significant growth over the past 10 years, J&J Produce is expanding two of its facilities, located in White Pine, TN, and Adel, GA.

With the influx of business and a 33 percent increase in planted acreage, J&J decided to expand the cooler capacity in the White Pine facility by about 50 percent through the addition of more refrigerated repacking rooms, new pre-coolers and cucumber and pepper lines. It has been in operation already at this location for more than five years.

Los Angeles-based Gourmet Trading, a year-round distributor of fresh asparagus and blueberries, announced the hiring of EVANGELINA KAUDZE as food-safety director.

Lipman, which lays claim to being North America’s largest open-field tomato grower, has unveiled its newest proprietary round-variety tomato, the Crimson Queen.

Lipman, based in Immokalee, FL, has long been dedicated to research and development to produce high-quality and flavorful produce. The Crimson Queen features increased flavor and a bright red interior and is the latest variety to emerge from the work of Mark Barineau, director of seed development and research and development for Lipman.

In order to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, all Big Y Supermarkets will be donating proceeds from their entire produce department as well as additional select products throughout the store to over 19 local breast cancer support groups throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.

"Breast cancer affects thousands of women and many men each year," Donald D'Amour, Big Y chief executive officer, said in a press release. "We hope that this initiative will not only promote breast cancer awareness but also save lives through early detection and care."

Turbana Corp. announced the launch of "Growing Smiles, Sharing Goodness," a nationwide movement that aims to inspire Americans to live actively, eat healthy, get involved in their communities and ultimately care about the well-being of the world around them.