Pears and ethylene

For those who are attuned to the world of organic produce, the Nov. 17-19 of the National Organic Standards Board is probably already on your calendar. One of the issues at the meeting is the use of ethylene on organic pears. From the Federal Register notice of the meeting:
The Handling Committee will present their recommendations on the materials: Sodium chlorite, acidified, Calcium,derived from seaweed, Propionic acid, and Ethylene—for use in pears, petitioned for inclusion in § 205.605 for use in organic products.

TK: Here are a couple industry comments in support of the use of ethylene on pears:

October 16, 2008
Ms. Valerie Frances
Executive Director USDA/AMS/TMP/NOP National Organic Standards Board
1400 Independence Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007
Dear Ms. Frances:
Dovex Fruit Company is a conventional and organic pear packer that has been part of the fruit industry in Washington state for 30 years. Dovex is a family- owned business that packs approximately 9 million organic pears in 2007. Not only do we pack and ship for 12 outside growers. We are writing this letter in support of the petition to allow the use of ethylene for post harvest ripening of organic pears. We started organic pear packing in 1998 with approximately 38,000 cartons and since that time have grown to 200,000 cartons of Bartletts, Anjous and Bosc. Organic pear growing and packing is not without challenges including managing pest and disease disorders (pre- and post-harvest), storage loss prevention, minimizing handling injuries, optimizing pear quality through transportation choices and packaging materials and finally delivering a high quality, flavorful, juicy product that our consumers have come to appreciate and enjoy. Winter pear cultivars, such as Anjou, are challenging as they require a period of chilling to induce normal ripening. Anjous at harvest require 60 days chilling at 30 degrees F to obtain the correct ripening. In our 30 years of conventional pear production, ethylene has been a tool used to ripen winter cultivars not only to get them on the market earlier but also for getting riper fruit on the market at all times of the year. This tool is not available for organic pear ripening and organic winter pears may not be readily available during this 2 month time period. Ethylene is the optimum product to assist in ripening organic pears as it is a natural by- product of ripening fruit and is harmonious with the practices of organic production. Our organic production is at a disadvantage if we cannot use ethylene to get a consistently ripe and better tasting piece of fruit on the market as we can with our conventional pears. Weather conditions often complicate the harvest of pears, and as most things mother nature produces, fruit maturity does not always happen simultaneously. Currently, organic pears at differing maturities (firmness) must be separated/sorted to allow uniform ripening following the two-month cold period. Ethylene would assist in evening out the ripening process, while reducing energy costs for storage. As the consumer demand for organic produces grows, we want to meet that demand and the use of ethylene would allow us to produce the highest quality organic product available. Dovex Fruit Company appreciates your consideration of this petition and requests that you support the use of ethylene for the post harvest ripening of organic pears. Please feel free to contact me for clarification or additional questions.

Sincerely,
Eugene W. Loudon
Director of Marketing
Dovex Marketing, Wenatchee, WA
genel@dovex.com
(509) 662-8520


TK: Chris Zanobini of the California Pear Advisory Board also states, in support of the inclusion of ethylene, that ripening gas is already approved for use on organic citrus, tropical fruit and bananas. Bryan Silbermann also penned this letter advocating for ethylene:

October 20, 2008

Ms. Valerie Frances
Executive Director USDA/AMS/TMP/NOP National Organic Standards Board
1400 Independence Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007

Dear Ms. Frances,
The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is pleased to submit this letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support the use of ethylene in postharvest handling of organic pears. PMA is the largest global not-for-profit trade association representing companies that market fresh fruits and vegetables. We represent 3,000 companies, from grower-shippers and supermarket retailers, to hotel and restaurant chains and overseas importers. Within the United States, PMA members handle more than 90% of fresh produce sold to consumers. Ethylene is an important postharvest tool that allows for increased uniform ripening and increased rate of ripening in a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, including organic pears. Uniform ripening gives consumers a consistent and favorable experience in the ripeness of the produce they buy in supermarkets. Pears do not ripen evenly without the use of ethylene, and organic winter pears now require a 1-2 month cold storage period, after which pears emerge with widely variable fruit quality (depending on how firm the pears are when harvested). If growers had access to ethylene for their organic pears, these fruits would be on the market in days instead of months. Lastly, ethylene usage is consistent with principles of organic production and is widely accepted in other countries and by other organic governing bodies. Ethylene is already approved to ripen organic tropical fruit, bananas, and de-greening organic citrus in the U.S. I hope you will consider our request to allow the use of ethylene for ripening organic pears.

Sincerely,
Bryan E. Silbermann,
CAE President,
Produce Marketing Association

TK: I saw no opposing comments about this issue on the federal docket and did not see a great amount of buzz about ethylene and organic standards on the Web. So far, so good.