WASHINGTON -- Twenty-nine cherry companies received warning letters from the Food & Drug Administration in October telling them to stop making unsupported claims about the powers of cherries to prevent and cure diseases on product labels and on their web sites.

The 29 companies that received the warnings were marketing dried fruit, fruit juice and juice concentrate as a means for treating or preventing of a variety of diseases, including cancer, heart disease and arthritis.

The Cape Ann Food Cooperative in Gloucester, MA, shut its doors after 31 years in business.

The retail end of the co-op's operations served 860 households in the Cape Ann area, offering natural and organic foods to its arts community clientele.

"The bottom line is we had been losing money - $154,000 - over the last 10 years," said Judy Parisella, interim general manager of the co-op. The membership voted to keep the co-op going despite the losses, but "that did not translate into green," she said.

The Defense Commissary Agency has scheduled an industry roundtable Nov. 16 at the Airport Marriott in Atlanta to discuss the implementation of its Fresh Fruit & Vegetable program.

The roundtable is the result of the success of a recent test to see if a produce business model, based upon commercial practices, could reduce costs to DeCA -- resulting in lower prices and better quality for customers.

If one were to ask the average grocery store shopper for his or her opinions about watermelon, the answer would probably relate to it being a tasty summertime treat.

The Sundia Corp. aims to capitalize on what it sees as a juicy opportunity to change consumers' ideas about watermelons.

As days passed following Hurricane Wilma's sweep through south Florida on Oct. 24, it became increasingly apparent that the damage was much worse than initially thought. For some growers, it caused a total loss of crops, and many are still assessing the damage a week later.

FRESNO, CA -- As of Oct. 26, it had been five weeks since the official start of autumn. The frost is already on the pumpkins, so to speak, across much of the United States.

But in California, one of the favorite produce items of summer -- California fresh grapes -- is still being picked, packed and shipped in abundance and variety.

California grapes will, in fact, continue to be available throughout the remainder of the fall season and into early winter.