More United pics

Non browning apples in Western Australia and waning foodservice confidence

The Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group continues to produce timely news and topics of discussion for the industry. Luis posts this about Enchanted Apple, a non-browning variety developed in Australia that should be on the market there in mere weeks. Unlike a variety developed using genetic engineering in Canada, this variety was developed using conventional methods. From the story:

“This exciting new variety has pure white flesh that naturally stays very white, even after several hours of exposure to air, unlike other apples which brown readily,” he said.Mr Chance said it addressed the age-old problem of apples going brown after they were cut and exposed to air.
“The resistance of Enchanted to oxidation makes it much more useful and attractive for industry, offering better value-adding possibilities and the opportunity to develop new products using fewer preservatives to expand the apple range,” he said.

TK: Western Australia has a winner, if indeed this apple can live up to its press billing. Another insightful post by Luis notes the NRA's Restaurant Performance Index is laggardly indeed.

Traceability - Now and then

What will be the timeline for implementation of traceability solutions in the produce industry? That was one of the topics at United's food safety/traceability seminar today in Las Vegas. A June meeting of members of the Produce Industry Traceability Initiative will help set the ambitions for the industry, but perhaps the most realistic parameters range between 18 months and five years, a couple of panelists said after today's workshop. Here is a link to the pdf presentation presented at the workshop. More coverage coming in The Packer....

Health Care Solution

LAS VEGAS -- Steve Burd, president and CEO of Safeway, gave his convincing health care presentation at the United Fresh Produce Association breakfast today, May 5.

Burd's health care plan has worked so well for Safeway, he's trying to get the country to adopt it before any national health care initiative comes about.

"The private sector can always lead for a market-based solution," he told the breakfast crowd.

Burd said his plan is to show that 30 or so private companies can adopt his system in the next 12-18 months, and then convince the future president and Congress it can work. He said he's already met with more than 60 U.S. senators about the plan, and he's gotten strong feedback.

In short, his system reduces health care costs by insuring everyone, rewarding good health while penalizing poor health choices, and makes cost and quality more transparent.

For many of us in the crowd, it was the first time we heard Burd's plan, but it surely won't be the last. His presentation is polished and convincing, and should play well nationally as he recruits more companies, especially if the expected results come through.

Harkin: Don't weaken ethanol goals

Furor over food prices continues. From the office of Sen. Tom Harkin:

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should uphold the ethanol standards passed by the energy bill with an expansion of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Earlier today, 23 Senate Republicans urged the agency to halt ethanol production expansion.
“To single out increased biofuels production and use in the United States, European Union and other countries as the chief cause of higher world food prices is an over-simplification of the problem. Numerous factors are contributing to this increase in prices: a strong demand for food imports in Asian countries such as China and India, abetted by the weak U.S. dollar, high energy costs, and poor harvests over the last few years in key producing countries such as Australia and the European Union.
“There is no question that rising food prices are turning into a global concern, but the call for EPA to halt the growth in U.S. ethanol use and cut short the promise of biofuels for our nation’s energy security is without merit. Instead, we must get to the heart of the problem by evaluating the root cause of high food prices and expanding the use of alternative feedstocks in ethanol production, such as the investment in production of biofuels from cellulosic materials in the farm bill currently moving through Congress.”

Meet your coach in the organic aisle

We have personal fitness trainers, we have financial consultants, we parenting classes and finally, we have organic coaches. Not in Kansas, assuredly, but this NYT feature talks about the phenomenon. From the story:

Ms. Weiser describes \herself as a certified wellness counselor, with a specialty in “helping busy parents prioritize the health and happiness of their families in an overscheduled, hypercompetitive environment.” A Wharton M.B.A. herself, Ms. Weiser is sort of an organic lifestyle coach for the kind of Westchester mother who “might look like she’s concerned with material success,” as Ms. Weiser puts it diplomatically, but “wants an element of ‘crunchy’— who feels something pulling at them that’s more real.”

Teaching people how to return to a simple lifestyle — not to eat anything, as Ms. Weiser says, “that wouldn’t grow in the ground” — turns out to be a complicated proposition, involving a bounty of reading materials and 12 educational sessions over the course of six months, not to mention the tour. Ms. Weiser considers it as much her job to teach mothers basics like how to cook kale (or at least, how to teach their help to cook kale), as to help them learn to say no “to all those volunteer types of projects that they consider obligations.”

TK: Perhaps buying Michael Pollan's books and following a few of his precepts might be the better path, but who I am to judge?