Discussion board roundup 7/31

Our discussion board regulars continue to provide great links and insight. These and others can be found at the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group.

Hundreds of thousands of tiny, bright red creatures Big Apple notes Mite problem plagues palms

70 percent of those surveyed said they don't trust the environmental and health claims of branded food products Big Apple links to story that reports: Fears over food safety on the rise. A recent survey indicates that 50 percent of U.S. consumers are more concerned about food safety than they were two years ago. In the survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of IBM's Institute for Business Value, two of every five who answered said that they buy brands based on safety. And 70 percent of those surveyed said they don't trust the environmental and health claims of branded food products

California farmers cashing in on China's growing hunger for high-quality fruits, nuts Luis posts this link that reports that worries about Chinese low price fruit exports are balanced by the country growing import demand for high quality fruits and nuts. From the story: But some California growers are cashing in on China's increasing wealth and growing hunger for table grapes, almonds and other high- quality fruits and nuts that don't grow as well in the Asian nation. Such pricey commodities helped drive the value of U.S. agricultural exports to China from less than $1.9 billion in 2001 to nearly $6.7 billion last year.
"There's a big enough group of people there that don't want just the cheapest; they want high-quality stuff, and they're willing to pay more for it," said Daniel Sumner, who directs the University of California Agricultural Issues Center.

Ag competition bill introduced Luis posts that a bill has been introduced that would create government oversight over agribusiness mergers. From the link: The bill would create an Ag Competition Task Force to assist DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in drafting antitrust guidelines for agriculture, examine problems in competition, and coordinate activities to address anti-competitive practices.

Trade Deficit in Food Safety Luis links to Public Citizen report that shows: Report notes that USDA regulates less than 20% of the foods we eat but has the authority to approve or disapprove countries (i.e. food safety protocols) and inspect plants abroad, while on the other hand, FDA has jurisdiction over 80% of the foods but does not have the same authority to regulate foreign food safety protocols and food plant.