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Mushroom demand continues to grow, with larger pack sizes and Monterey Mushrooms’ Baby Bellas seeing significant growth this past year, said Bruce Knobeloch.

Avondale, Pa.-based Basciani Foods has invested in automation, and that move is paying off, said Fred Recchiuti, general manager of the company.

A shorter apple crop and inflationary supply chain pressures have changed the feel of the 2021-22 apple compared with a year ago.

Bagged apple sales haven’t disappeared nearly two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but the trend toward packaged fruit is moderating some, industry leaders report.

Blended products have been the top driver behind product innovation and increasing the consumer-facing portfolio for Rochester, N.Y.-based Leep Foods.

Organic apple supplies are tight and getting tighter in the 2021-22 marketing season.

“Food inflation is a hot topic,” Michael Swanson says noting that overall prices in the category are running at 6% higher than a year ago, whereas typically year-to-year food inflation is 1%.

U.S. organic fresh produce imports are surging, according to USDA import statistics.

Los Angeles-based 4Earth Farms has launched several new organic items in the past few months, including broccoli and cauliflower florets, halved and shaved Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower rice.

A comparison of central California truck shipments of organic fresh produce in 2021 compared with 2020 showed a big gain in oranges and romaine lettuce, but lower shipments for multiple vegetables.