The produce industry has long complained about competing Good Agricultural Practice audits, and now a new working group will meet next month to start hammering out a single standard for all third-party GAP audits by October 2010.

"We've created a monster allowing different standards to propagate," said David Gombas, project coordinator for the GAP harmonization effort and senior vice president for food safety and technology at the United Fresh Produce Association.

NEW YORK -- Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year and kicked off festivities with its Big Apple Bog, held here Oct. 6-8 at Rockefeller Center.

The nation's apple harvest is in full swing, and that means that National Apple Month has kicked off its fall display contest.

The retail display contest brings the apple industry's fall generic apple promotions front and center for all consumers to enjoy. For many consumers, the apple displays will be the next best thing to being in the orchard and selecting the fruit from the tree.

ANAHEIM, CA -- The Canadian Produce Marketing Association's overhaul of its 5 to 10 a Day program and its new Passion for Produce mentoring program are among the new initiatives on which the association is working to benefit the produce industry.

The aftermath of last week's Japanese typhoon gained strength as it traveled eastward over the Pacific Ocean and slammed into California's Central Coast Tuesday, Oct. 13.

A storm of this magnitude typically arrives mid-winter when there are no local crops being harvested. Heavy winds and rain started early Oct. 13 and continued all day.

WASHINGTON -- A group of some 50 produce industry leaders from every stage of the supply chain have come together to begin work on a major initiative to drive harmonization of standards and audits for Good Agricultural Practices.

The group was convened following widespread interest in harmonization voiced by industry leaders at the Global Conference on Produce Food Safety Standards, held in conjunction with the United Fresh Produce Association convention in April.