Novazone, a leading provider of ozone-based solutions that improve the freshness and safety of food and water, has announced the appointment of Patrick Whalen as vice president of worldwide sales.

In his new position, Mr. Whalen is responsible for all aspects of sales and field application engineering. Reporting to Paul White, Novazone's president and chief executive officer, Mr. Whalen will be located at the company's headquarters in Livermore, CA.

Sysco Corp., one of North America's larger foodservice marketers and distributors, announced that Catherine Kayser has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of Sysco Food Services of Seattle Inc., a Sysco subsidiary located in Kent, WA.

Ms. Kayser, who is currently executive vice president of the Seattle operation, will assume her new duties Jan. 1. She succeeds current President and Chief Executive Officer Robert M. Jenson, who will retire at the end of the calendar year following a distinguished 33-year career in the foodservice industry.

The agricultural community was encouraged by President Bush's push for immigration reform the last week in November, as he once again endorsed the concept of a guest worker program.

While this year's Peruvian asparagus deal is in full swing and by most accounts has been a good season overall, the volume shipped to the United States is not as high as in past years.

The Dallas Farmers Market is undergoing a study on the best ways to revamp the open-air retail facility through a $3.2 million overhaul that will take 36 months to complete, according to Troy Thorn, administrator.

He said that the transition will provide for offering more prepared foods and also for related stores, such as those that would specialize in cook books, kitchen wares, wines and cheeses.

For print journalists who attempt to paint a picture with their words, the usually colorless Wall Street Journal is the holy grail of the newspaper world.

Though it has succumbed slightly to the print media trend of clouding words with pictures, it has stayed pretty close to its roots of letting well-written words tell the story.

Hence, it is particularly galling when The Wall Street Journal plays it loose and publishes a story that isn't supported by facts.

Such was the case with a Nov. 29 article titled "When Eating Your Vegetables Makes You Sick."