SUN VALLEY, ID — While the Idaho potato industry is coming off a difficult year plagued by high volume and suppressed prices, there is optimism that a shorter crop will lead to better returns for growers. But a veteran retailer warned the industry that it must be proactive in maintaining and improving its standing among consumers.

The first shipload of Brazilian canary melons from Itaueira Farms in northeastern Brazil is expected to arrive on the East Coast of the United States Sept. 20, according to Rodrigo Lima, who handles the company's North American sales through Crown International USA LLC in Key Biscayne, FL.

Mr. Lima said that volume should be similar to last year, "but we don’t focus on volume, we focus on quality."

Leonard J. Ronan Jr., chief accounting officer for the Los Angeles Salad Co., died peacefully in his sleep Sept. 1 at his home in Walnut, CA. He was 78.

When shoppers see new Heart Check marks on potatoes next year, the industry hopes the U.S. Department of Agriculture will notice them too and add white potatoes to the federally supported Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children.

Starting in February, white potatoes will join a list of foods that have been certified to meet the American Heart Association's nutrition criteria as being low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

"Authenticity" has long been a watchword of the California Avocado Commission and never more than with the inception of the California avocado grower marketing campaign.

This season, California avocado growers have elevated their level of involvement in the consumer campaign by making personal appearances at retailer events and by interacting with consumers as well as with the media to create personalized marketing experiences.

The South African summer citrus season is progressing according to plan with 30,583 tons of clementines, Navel oranges and grapefruit shipped as of the second week of September.

"We have been delighted with the demand for our citrus this season," Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, said in a Sept. 7 press release.