Reeling in the news

As you will notice, Fresh Talk has added a Google news reel on the right that provides the top stories for any particular keyword. This is a nifty new utility for blogger; let me know if you want me to add any other keywords to the news reel function. As you can see, I'm off to a fine start already. In view of the ease of this function, TK's Hot Picks has died a quiet death.

I've also added a video bar at the bottom, with keywords of food safety, supermarkets, ABC 20/20 and the farm bill. This feature may have less staying power, but tell me if you think it deserves the space.

Post #500

This is post number 500 for the Fresh Talk blog. I'll pop the champagne cork later. I appreciate the fact that so many industry leaders have been a part of the blog in various ways - some no doubt without knowing it. I will refer to Fresh Talk as "we" but not in terms of an overblown sense of self-importance (as a Midwesterner I am mostly exempt from that proclivity) , but rather in the sense that "we" do have guest Fresh Talk bloggers that lend their insight to this space, and that will continue. Lance Jungmeyer and Rick Bella have been two and more are in the pipeline.

This has been a busy deadline day at The Packer, but I'll catch up with some of the blog work tonight.

Farm Bill can assist in many ways...

"This year Congress will reauthorize major farm and food legislation in the "Farm Bill." The Farm Bill is multi-year authorizing legislation that will change, and hopefully improve, a number of policies that are of interest to the wholesale produce industry and to food banks. One important area for collaboration between the produce industry, farmers, and food banks is in support of more purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables for needy Americans.

The Administration supports a healthier diet for recipients of the nutrition programs set to be authorized in the Farm Bill and has proposed to increase the amount of fresh produce that is provided to Federal nutrition assistance programs like school lunch and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

The Farm Bill proposal would increase fresh produce available to schools and food banks by USDA purchases of fresh produce up to $2.75 billion over 10 years. America's Second Harvest strongly supports this proposal. Our food banks want to provide the most nutritious and wholesome food to the growing number of needy people that our food banks serve each year. According to the most recent independent study of food banks, more than 25 million low-income people, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors received food assistance from our food banks.

Working together with the produce industry, packers, and farmers, we can ensure that when needy people come to our food banks for help, they will be able to leave with safe, healthy fresh fruit and vegetables. To find out how you can help please visit the America's Second Harvest website at: http://www.secondharvest.org/ and visit the Hunger Action Center to send electronic messages of support to your members of Congress."

RB: The ripple affect of this bill is tremendous. Not only is it the right thing to do, it exposes many young future consumers to the wonderful world of fresh produce. This certainly can have long lasting benefits for both, the consumer and provider; too many to list here. Please give it some thought; and most importantly, get involved.

E. coli outbreak

This story reports on the E. coli outbreak in Orange County. A 12-year old girl remains hospitalized and in intensive care, but restaurant continues to operate. From another story the previous day, the LA Times:
From the story:

"It's not good," said Eric Larson, a Souplantation regional manager, as he greeted customers at the door during Tuesday's lunch hour. "We're usually nearly full during the lunch rush. But now we're maybe a quarter full."But some customers said they were undeterred by the negative publicity."What happened here could happen to any restaurant," said Mike Gallawa, 53, of Huntington Beach before he entered the restaurant with his wife. "Things like this can happen when you handle such large amounts of food."We've been coming to Souplantations for years, and we love it. And with all the scrutiny this place is getting, it's probably one of the safest places to eat these days."Not everyone was as accepting. Jim Lowes, a 55-year-old Foothill Ranch resident, said he was angry that management did not inform him of the E. coli outbreak. "Had I known, I would not have chosen this place," said Lowes, minutes after finishing off a salad and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. "I'll never eat here again. They should have put up a sign or something."Larson said the company wasn't hiding anything from its customers. "If people ask," he said, "we're telling them that seven people who ate here became ill and that the health department is looking into finding the source of it."


TK: With the instant communication of the Web, restaurants pay a stiff price for outbreaks. No commodity source has been found for the E. coli, but health authorities say the pathogen appears similar to the one linked to spinach last year. And, of course, the spinach outbreak becomes a point of reference in every story.