Produce

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. (Del Monte) believes there’s a “chef” in all of us. Del Monte announced, it will hold a national search beginning April 15 for an aspiring chef. The contest, “Find Your Inner Chef,” encourages consumers to participate in a fun and fresh culinary experience, using their own favorite recipe or by creating a new recipe using Del Monte® fresh fruits and vegetables. …

The ongoing problems of pre-harvest fruit drop and small size sent the 2012-13 Florida orange crop down another 1 million boxes, and few industry observers think that's the last of the reductions until the season wraps up in June. …

The organic apples you buy in the grocery store will soon be free of a widely used antibiotic. The National Organic Standards Board late Thursday rejected a petition to allow growers to use the antibiotic oxytetracyline beyond the existing expiration date of Oct. 21, 2014. …

Western Growers applauds the agreement today on immigration reform reached by the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, the United Farm Workers (UFW) and key Senators engaged in the process. Western Growers is a member of the AWC, an organization working toward a viable solution for America’s farmers and ranchers to have access to a legal workforce now and in the future. The framework and objectives of this agreement represent a major step toward ensuring that, said WG President and CEO Tom Nassif. …

While more than 95 percent of U.S. artichoke production is currently in California, Mike Ortiz and his business partner, Jed Murray, himself a California ‘transplant’ to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, have been giving the artichoke a home where the armadillo and roadrunner roam. …