Two produce trade groups teamed up June 24 to host a webinar in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion about the upcoming country-of-origin labeling law due to go into effect later this fall.

In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to release the latest interpretation of the just-passed farm bill with the much-favored labeling changes. Before that, buyers and sellers of fresh produce must prepare packaging and signage to comply with the Sept. 30 deadline for country-of- origin labeling.

WASHINGTON -- The Salmonella outbreak investigation that has fingered tomatoes for a month just took an unusual turn when federal health officials acknowledged that they are "expanding the investigation" to other produce items commonly served with tomatoes.

Vancouver, BC-based spud! has moved onto the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market. The company -- which claims to be North America's largest on-line organic home grocer -- acquired Organic Express and moved into the space Organic Express occupied on the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market.

Organic Express had been making deliveries of fresh organic produce to homes and offices since 1995. As a home deliverer of 100 percent certified- organic produce and groceries, the company easily was the largest in its niche in the San Francisco Bay area.

The Idaho Potato Commission had one thing in mind when it launched its 2007 retail ad campaign: to show retailers the power of stocking Idaho potatoes.

Not only did it accomplish that, but the comic book-inspired ads it used received accolades for being among the best in the industry. The ad campaign won numerous awards from the National Agri-Marketing Association and the Idaho Advertising Federation, beating out well-known campaigns like the National Pork Board's "The Other White Meat."

Pro*Act announced at the end of June that NLaws Produce in Savannah, GA, has joined the company's distribution network.

NLaws Produce, a family-owned company, was founded by Steve Kaplan and Jay Epstein, friends and brothers in-law who have a combined 57 years of produce distribution experience. Located on the Georgia State Farmer's Market, operations are set to expand July 1 into neighboring space, giving the firm 35,000 square feet of operations. The facility boasts a refrigerated receiving dock and a superior third-party sanitation and security rating.

Some growers may cut back -- or pass up -- lettuce plantings for a fall harvest in Huron, CA, as a result of tight water supplies.

The fall Iceberg lettuce harvest in Huron typically runs for as long as five weeks and serves to fill a gap between the end of quality product from the California and Arizona desert areas and the start of the Iceberg lettuce harvest in the Salinas Valley.

Crops that require less irrigation and tillage than Iceberg lettuce could look attractive during times of tight water allocations.