WASHINGTON -- Tomatoes and/or tomato sauces may reduce the risk of certain cancers, but the Food & Drug Administration has flatly rejected health claims linking lycopene as having any cancer-prevention qualities.

After a two-year review and several delays, FDA ruled on two petitions that asked regulators to allow a wide variety of new health claims regarding eating tomatoes and processed tomato products.

Frontera Produce announced that it has begun a new melon import program into the port of Corpus Christi to service retailers and wholesale distributors throughout the United States.

Frontera, based in Edinburg, TX, will be importing cantaloupe and honeydew from Guatemala through Altobaso S.A., contracting 2,400 tons per week for the duration of the season running November to May.

PHILADELPHIA -- International logistics executive George Sibley received the eighth "Friend of Chile" award Nov. 16 at a luncheon, here.

Mr. Sibley, who is senior vice president of Barthco International Inc., here, received the award from the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia. More than 150 people were in attendance at the Hyatt Regency hotel, which, appropriately, overlooks the Delaware River. Ports on the river received 55 million cases of Chilean fruit last year.

WASHINGTON -- Dole Fresh Fruit International said that a federal review board's decision to postpone acting on whether to keep ethylene on a list of substances allowed on organically labeled bananas would leave farmers in a tenuous position.

At a Nov. 16 meeting, Franz Wielemaker, director of sourcing and development for Dole's organic program, said that the National Organic Standards Board should recommend that the U.S. Department of Agriculture continue listing ethylene as a post-harvest substance used for banana ripening.

ATLANTA -- The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association is extending a $4 million 2005-06 promotion to many major markets throughout North America.

In a presentation to the trade and media here Nov. 5, Tom Tjerandsen, managing director for the association, which is based in Sacramento, CA, presented details of the promotion.

Gustavo Yentzen, marketing manager for the Chilean Exporters Association, or ASOEX, which is based in Santiago, outlined an overview of the plans.

Vida Fresh Inc., a Los Angeles area-based grower, shipper, importer and exporter of fresh herbs and assorted fruits and vegetables, has received certification for the second successive year from the Mexican government for its food- safety practices on its herb farms in Baja California, Mexico.