Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Mango board outreach

The National Mango Board passes on this news to Fresh Talk readers:

The National Mango Board (NMB) invites all mango industry members to an Outreach Meeting being held February 6 in Miami, FL. NMB staff and leaders will present updates on ongoing research and promotion activities and will handle questions immediately following the presentation. The Outreach Meeting is scheduled for 12 noon on Wednesday, February 6, at the Hilton Miami Airport Hotel, located at 5101 Blue Lagoon Drive in Miami, FL. Phone: 305-262-1000. The one-hour meeting will be followed by lunch. Anyone interested in attending should contact the National Mango Board by Tuesday, January 29, by calling 1-877-MANGOS1 or 407-629-7318.

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Roberta Cook


More than one industry leader considers UC Davis economist Roberta Cook's insights into the produce business prophet-like, and it is easy to see why. Here is Dr. Cook's presentation, updated in November and passed along by PMA, on "Trends in the marketing of Fresh Produce and fresh cut products."



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No free pass

Even the most widely embraced and broadly appreciated government agency doesn't get a fee increase without a fight. That thought came to me as I was reading one comment on the PACA's proposed fee increase.

From this link, the rule from November last year:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to amend the PACA Rules of Practice regulations (7 CFR part 47) to increase informal complaint filing fees and formal complaint handling fees. The proposal would increase from $60 to $100 the fee for filing and informal complaint; and would increase from $300 to $500 the fee for handling a formal complaint.

One Florida vegetable grower wrote:

Suprise,Suprise a government program which already over charges is losing money. I sure wish we had it this easy in farming,lose millions of dollars because you don't know how to run a business and then raise the prices on the people working 7 days a week trying to keep the farms operating. I do not know why I am wasting my time commenting you will not change anything. My advise is to keep PACA law and disband the office of PACA and let us fight it out with our own attorneys.

Another comment from Farmers' Legal Action Group Inc. asks for a waiver for smaller growers:


Many of FWAF’s members are transitioning from the role of farmworker to that of beginning farmer. Along with this transition come the challenges common to all new farmers, including the challenge of marketing crops. In selling their fruits and vegetables, FWAF’s members have repeatedly found that they must fight to receive full and prompt payment for their crops. Frequently, after accepting farmers’ produce, the packinghouses which purchased the produce pay the farmers less than the promised price. In other instances, agents selling produce on the farmers’ behalf refuse to pay the farmers altogether, claiming the produce was destroyed, but providing no proof of its destruction or that such destruction was warranted. At the same time, the agents charge the farmers for the services purportedly provided on their behalf. As a result, the farmers sometimes end up “owing” money to the agents and remain without any compensation for their crops. For the PACA’s protections to be meaningful, they must be accessible. However, unlike the Packers and Stockyards Act, which allows producers and growers to file a reparation complaint without charge, the PACA requires farmers to pay a filing fee to enforce their payment rights. At the same time, many of today’s fruit and vegetable producers are beginning farmers who lack the monetary resources to pay the PACA reparation complaint filing fee. Nevertheless, as described above, it is precisely these beginning farmers who are most in need of the protections afforded by the PACA. Therefore, as the Department considers increases in the PACA filing fees, FWAF urges it to simultaneously implement a provision providing that the filing fee shall be waived for those who cannot afford to pay it. Implementing such a provision will ensure that the
important rights protected by the PACA remain accessible to all. To ensure its programs are accessible to lower-income farmers, USDA has previously done exactly what FWAF requests it do here: implemented a fee waiver for those who cannot afford to pay filing and servicing fees. For example, in its crop insurance programs, USDA provides fee waivers to limited resource farmers (as defined in 7 C.F.R.457.8) so that small-scale and lower-income farmers are assured access to those programs. The rights protected by the PACA are similarly fundamental to ensuring farmers can maintain their livelihood. Consequently, FWAF requests that just as the Department has in other program areas, it act here to protect farmers’ ability to enforce their rights under the PACA, regardless of their financial status.

TK: For a letter that expresses full support of the PACA fee increase, see this link to a Western Growers letter submitted on the rule. This PACA fee increase won't be the last. This earlier blog post references introduction of proposed fee increase, and here is a link to 2004 coverage from The Packer about how the predicament came to be. Sticker shock is not over, and one wonders if the big cash infusion that Congress gave AMS after the Hunts Point bribery scandal has been more of a curse than a blessing.

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What we spend money on

I was doing some reporting for a story this week on the impact of the potential recession on the fruit and vegetable industry. As it turns out, some economists are already saying the recession has already begun.
In any case, I happened to stumble over this interesting link from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It breaks down what Americans spend on virtually everything. For example, the average household spent $552 on fruits and vegetables in 2005, compared with $2,013 for gasoline and motor oil. In case you were wondering.....

Unfortunately, rising gasoline prices now may be one factor in reshaping consumer expenditures, to the likely detriment of foodservice operators in 2008.

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Come and get them: nutrition posters from FDA

How often do you see nutrition information for fresh fruits and vegetables prominently displayed at retail? I have to say I don't often notice nutrition information posted in the stores I shop. Here is a way for retailers to create more visibility for fresh f/v nutrition info: downloadable pdf posters of nutrition information for the most consumed fruits and vegetables are available from the FDA web site here.

From CFSAN:


The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has posted on its website downloadable and printable posters of nutrition information for the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States. The website also includes a poster that lists nutrition information for fish which has been cooked by moist or dry heat with no added ingredients.

FDA is providing these posters to encourage retail stores that sell raw fruits, vegetables, and fish to participate in the voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program (21 CFR 101.42 through 101.45). Retail store operators can download the posters and print them for display to consumers in proximity to the relevant foods in the stores and for dissemination to consumers.

FDA encourages consumers to use the posters to help plan a healthy diet and learn about the important nutrients contained in fruits, vegetables and fish. Federal dietary guidelines recommend two to four servings of fruits and three to five servings of vegetables each day. In addition to protein, fish contributes polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats to the diet.

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