Canada will once again implement additional temporary import requirements for U.S. origin romaine lettuce for Fall 2023. The additional requirements will be in effect from September 28, 2023 to December 20, 2023. As with previous years’ requirements, Canada will require imported romaine lettuce and/or salad mixes containing romaine lettuce originating from the Salinas Valley counties of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, or …

Duda Farm Fresh Foods, a leading grower of fresh vegetables and citrus, launches its annual National Celery Month consumer sweepstakes with a new theme – “Stalk Up for Spring.” Throughout the month of March, Duda Farm Fresh Foods will share ways consumers can incorporate celery into their spring routines, along with the chance to win the ultimate prize pack valued …

Maeli Melotto and her team at the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences are looking for strains of lettuce that are genetically stronger at resisting bacteria that can make people sick. Their work has led to the identification of a gene that could play a role in the plant’s susceptibility to E. coli, a bacterium that causes potentially lethal intestinal illness. …

Broccoli is well known for its particular flavor, healthy properties, and ability to help ward off certain types of cancer, but there’s more to this veggie than the florets found in salad bars, stir fries, and your favorite broccoli cheese soup. As proof that good things can come in small packages, baby broccoli — one type of “microgreen” — packs …

Despite the greatly increasing consumer interest for organic spinach in the U.S. and worldwide, production is not keeping pace with demand. To help overcome some of the challenges facing organic spinach production, Vijay Joshi, Ph.D., a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant systems physiologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde, was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of …

The FDA is releasing the findings of a sampling assignment for which FDA collected and tested romaine lettuce from commercial coolers in Yuma County, Arizona during February and March 2021. The agency tested the lettuce for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), specifically enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and Salmonella spp. This assignment was part of the FDA’s ongoing surveillance following multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks of foodborne illness in recent years …

Field Fresh Farms (fieldfreshproduce.com), a leading grower/shipper of conventional and organic produce, will be introducing its new baby hemp greens product at PMA Foodservice at booth 506 in Monterey, CA July 21-22. Available as a baby leaf offering and as an ingredient in leafy green mixes—to both foodservice and retail—this specialty, new-to-market salad green is packed with nutrients (including Omegas …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be collecting and testing samples of lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley from local commercial coolers from May through November 2021. The agency will test the samples for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), including E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. as part of ongoing surveillance efforts following reoccurring outbreaks linked to this region, including most recently in the fall of …

Two new races of the downy mildew pathogen (Peronospora effusa) on spinach have been denominated by the International Working Group on Peronospora in spinach (IWGP) on the basis of a worldwide evaluation of isolates from growers fields and trap nurseries. Isolate SP1924 found in Europe, is denominated as race Pe: 18. Isolate UA202001E, found in the USA, is denominated as …

A recent report of viral disease on lettuce from our neighbor (Yuma, Arizona) caught our attention since this is highly relevant to our production system (please find information on the first link below). The name of the virus is “Impatient Necrotic Sport Virus” (INSV), which is a tospovirus, similar to the virus that attacks tomato to cause tomato spotted wilt …