How do consumers crave their pears? Crunchy and tart? Moist and mildly sweet? Bursting with sweetness and juice?

Throughout the ripening process, the Bartlett pear fits each of these delicious flavor and texture characteristics, and a new tool called the Bartlett Pear Ripeness Guide from Portland, OR-based USA Pears will help consumers determine when their Bartlett pears have reached the ripeness level they prefer.

UCLA and Notre Dame college football tailgaters feasted on free hot dogs and hamburgers featuring the creamy taste of Chilean Hass avocados during the Chilean Avocado Importers Association's first-ever college football tailgate party Oct. 6 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.

A new PLU number has been confirmed and assigned by the Produce Electronic Identification Board and the International Federation for Produce Standards for pomegranates size 24 and larger.

The new number is 3440. PLU code 3127 is now used for size 30-36 and 4445 remains for size 42 and smaller.

John Carapella, warehouse manager for World Pack, recently announced to The Produce News that its new facility in Gloucester City, NJ, is racked and ready, and now open and fully operational. World Pack's 94,000-square-foot facility is equipped to handle all products and importers' needs.

lvaro Colom will be sworn in as the new president of Guatemala on Jan. 14. A key leader in the new administration will be Alfredo Miron. A fresh foliage grower-exporter, Alfredo Miron may be best known in the U.S. produce and floral industry for being, in the 1990s, the first international member on the board of the Newark, DE-based Produce Marketing Association.

In an interview with The Produce News on Nov. 6, Mr. Miron said that he has been a lifelong friend of Mr. Colom, as the two attended school together in Guatemala City.

Steffanie Smith has taken the reins at River Point Farms in Hermiston, OR, as its new chief executive officer. She assumed her new responsibilities the week of Nov. 5.

River Point Farms is among America's larger onion producers, and Ms. Smith said, "I look forward to bringing a new perspective to the company while preserving the integrity of the already-established business."