Stemilt to use 5 A Day character to champion apples
Stemilt Growers, based in Wenatchee, WA, rolled out a health-conscious program earlier this fall with a red-apple mascot at the helm touting the antioxidant richness in apples.
Roger Pepperl, Stemilt marketing director, said that 5 A Day's character, Raoul, whose winning smile and bright-red color appeals to both kids and adults, is the cheerleader for Stemilt apples Core of Healthy Living campaign. Stemilt selected the character to be the icon for its fall program from a cast of five Color Way Champions created by 5 A Day and the Produce for Better Health Foundation.
Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo opens facility in Vernon
More space, more coolers, faster loading and secure grounds are just some of the reasons organic grower-shipper Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo has a new address in Vernon, CA.
The company relocated its Los Angeles warehouse, packing and distribution operation Sept. 1, taking over more than half of a facility which formerly served as a Whole Foods distribution center.
"The move to this well-outfitted, more modern facility will definitely increase our efficiency overall and allow us to better serve our customers," said Rob Jacobs, vice president of sales and marketing.
SenaReider putting tomatoes on TV
Advertising agency SenaReider, with offices in San Francisco and Monterey, CA, announced that it has developed a national consumer TV campaign for the Florida Tomato Committee touting the health benefits of Florida tomatoes.
The work is the first TV branding ever done for tomatoes, and Florida grows more of them than any other state, according to the agency.
S. C. World Trade Center and WTC of Greater Philadelphia work together for hurricane relief
Rev. Willis T. Goodwin, a member of the South Carolina World Trade Center, and David M. Webster, a member of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, recently worked together to help Hurricane Katrina victims reduce flyborne illnesses.
Rev. Goodwin, in cooperation with the Twin City Out Reach Mission, purchased a large number of non-toxic fly traps from Mr. Webster of AgraCo Technologies. Rev. Goodwin made the purchase to help reduce the fly epidemic caused by the flooding and waste caused by Hurricane Katrina.
'First strike' recorded against Northwest apples as codling moth larva found in shipment to Taiwan
Within days of learning the Mexican Ministry of Economy had reinstituted a 45 percent antidumping duty on certain apples from the Northwest, U.S. growers were informed that a live codling moth larvae was detected in a shipment of Washington apples shipped to Taiwan in early October. The Mexican antidumping duty, which had been imposed on Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples in 2002 and suspended in May, was reintroduced Sept. 29 by publication in that country's federal register.
NPPGA planning promotions for Red River Valley potatoes
The upcoming marketing program planned by the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association in East Grand Forks, MN, is quite diverse, according to Ted Kreis, the marketing director for the group.
The association is revising its web site, nppga.org, which will also have a direct link to its marketing web page, redpotatoes.net. With operations beginning this fall, the site will include a marketing page.
FPFC membership rises and shines for annual Market Festival
LOS ANGELES The annual Fresh Produce & Floral Council Market Festival was held Wednesday Oct. 12 on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, here.
The event, which began at 5 a.m. and included a buffet breakfast along with table-top exhibits, was well attended by numerous retailers, wholesalers and other prominent produce industry representatives.
George Sadoian of Sadoian Bros. dies at 89
Grower-shipper George Sadoian of Sadoian Bros. in Dinuba, CA, died Oct. 6. He was 89.
A former chairman of both the California Grape & Tree Fruit League and the California Table Grape Commission, Mr. Sadoian was a well-known figure in the fresh fruit industry.
He was born in Lynn, MA, and moved to California, where his father bought a 40-acre fig and grape ranch in Dinuba, in 1920. As a teenager in the 1930s, Mr. Sadoian and his younger brothers worked shipping fresh figs to the East Coast.
Gills rolls out clamshell pack
Oxnard, CA-based Gills Onions, a leading processor of fresh red and yellow onions, has converted its retail line of fresh onion products from zip-lock bags into clamshell packaging with resealable lids.
The newly launched product line features breathable under- film technology to lock in freshness while sealing in onion aroma. Included in the product line are 10-ounce diced yellow or red onions, eight-ounce sliced yellow or red onions and a 10-ounce celery and onion diced mix.
Mission Produce to build facility in Seattle
Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce has completed negotiations to build a Mission Ripe Center in Seattle, scheduled to come on-line in late March.
Mission Ripe Center in Seattle will be more than 20,000 square feet and will house high-tech equipment and ripening rooms similar to those found in Mission's other facilities. The facility will have a staff of 25 people to run the operation and will service Washington, Oregon and western Canada.