Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Studies Confirm That Potassium-Rich Foods Are Great For Your Heart


Studies Confirm That Potassium-Rich Foods Are Great For Your Heart

Recent studies have confirmed that the consumption of foods rich in potassium such as raw fruits and vegetables is the best way to protect yourself against stroke.

The importance of eating plenty of potassium rich foods including potatoes, leafy green vegetables and bananas cannot be understated for those who wish to reduce their chances of suffering a stroke or even a coronary artery disease. In a recent study conducted by Italian scientists, the findings concluded that a higher intake of potassium was linked to a 19% reduced risk of stroke, as well as an 8% reduced risk of coronary heart disease. As such, these research findings have offered support to the worldwide recommendations made for people to generally increase their intake of potassium-rich foods, if they wish to protect themselves from vascular diseases. Other foods which are recommended for their good concentrations of potassium include apricots, soybeans, prune juice, avocado, dried beans, peas and plain non-fat yogurt.

A related study concluded that you can protect yourself against a stroke by partaking in a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables. In this study, the scientists investigated the incidences of stroke amongst more than twenty thousand men and women whose ages ranged between twenty and sixty-five years old; and all who did not suffer from cardiovascular diseases at the beginning of the research study. During the follow up studies which spanned a decade, there were two hundred and thirty three incidences of stroke amongst the subjects. General research findings concluded that persons with high intakes or raw fruits and vegetables in quantities higher than 262 grams a day were 36% less likely to suffer from a stroke, in comparison to persons with a low intake of raw fruits and vegetables in quantities lower than 92 grams a day.

Buy whole fruits and vegetables to save money - Norwich.com


Buy whole fruits and vegetables to save money
- Norwich.com

Everyone is on a budget and when it comes to buying groceries, saving money is at the top of the list. During National Nutrition Month, here are cost-saving tips to keep in mind when shopping for healthy food.

- Try to stay away from bagged salad mix. It tends to be more expensive because it’s not in its whole form. Instead, stick to whole lettuce heads of different varieties that need to be washed and cut.

- Avoid buying fruit already cut up, such as off the salad bar or in the cold food display case section. Buying whole fruit is cheaper.

- Pick fruits and vegetables that are seasonal and as always, watch prices. Sometimes even seasonal fruit and vegetables can be expensive depending on the weather in southern places where they are grown and harvested.

- In the summer, grow your own fruits and vegetables. If you have the time to do this, it will save you money in the long run.

- When it comes to snacks, try making your own. Recipes can be found for making snack mixes versus buying them already made. For example, pita chips for dip can be made from pita wraps and baked off — you’ll be able to season them yourself and likely cut back on salt content.

- Buy meat with skin and bones and trim it yourself. When comparing cost per pound, meat that has not yet been trimmed is cheaper.

- Buy food and supplies in bulk. Often times, wholesale club stores offer lower prices when customers can buy in bulk. In the case of meat, some of the product can be trimmed and frozen if not needed right away.

- Using coupons can help. Sometimes coupons are offered to get customers to try new things. You may want to avoid using coupons if it encourages you to buy a product you really don’t need.

- Watch your portions. It’s not only important to follow serving size on packages for food for weight management purposes, but also when using soaps and detergents. Laundry detergent will tell you exactly how much to use; don’t be tempted to use more for “extra clean” clothes.


Lastly, and most of us have heard this before, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry. You are more likely to buy food you don’t need, and even worse, eat it on the way home.


Whitney Bundy is a registered dietitian and director of Food and Nutrition Department at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. E-mail all of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org or comment on their blog at www.healthydocs.blogspot.com

Wal-Mart, Target Top Value Report - Twice.com

Wal-Mart, Target Top Value Report - Twice.com

DAYTON, OHIO — Wal-Mart and Target are the most “valuable” retail brands in the U.S. according to an annual report by retail brand consultants Interbrand Design Forum.

The discounters were followed by Best Buy (No. 3), The Home Depot (No. 4) and Walgreens (No. 5).

Interbrand evaluates brand value on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for a company in the future. Its Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands ranking factors in financial strength, importance in driving consumer selection, and the likelihood of ongoing branded revenue.

Wal-Mart, in its second year at No. 1, increased its brand value by 19 percent to $154 billion, as a store remodeling program improved comp sales and the economic downturn made the chain relevant to an even greater number of shoppers, Interbrand said.

Target also built its brand value last year, which rose a whopping 49 percent. Interbrand said the discounter’s focus on improving operations while reducing growth without compromising its brand helped it leapfrog Best Buy and The Home Depot to take the No. 2 spot.

Other CE and majap retailers on Interbrand’s Top 50 brand value rankings include Dell (No. 8); Amazon.com (No. 10); Lowe’s (No. 12); Staples (No. 14); Costco (No. 15); and RadioShack (No. 30).

Wal-Mart Has Plans To Reverse Same-Store Sales Slump - Mediapost

Wal-Mart Has Plans To Reverse Same-Store Sales Slump - Mediapost

Wal-Mart may have gone a bit overboard in the implementation of its "Project Impact" plan which, combined with food deflation, has led to the third straight quarter the store saw negative same-store sales growth. But it has plans to reverse the trend, Sean Gregory reports.

When the company reduced the number of brands and package sizes in its grocery section, it suffered two consequences. Some shoppers retreated to neighborhood supermarkets or dollar stores for staples. And the brands that were booted from Walmart shelves decided they had nothing lose by competing with the Bentonville Behemoth on price.

Now, the company is returning about 300 discontinued items to the shelves in one effort to lure back customers. It's also "lacing up the gloves" in the price war, says Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig. For example, a two-liter bottle of Coke that recently sold at a New York-area Walmart for $1.58 has been cut to 98 cents. "That's 'wow' pricing," says Weinswig, "and you'll think twice about going somewhere else."

At Rally, Call for Urgency on Immigration Reform - NYT

At Rally, Call for Urgency on Immigration Reform - NYT


WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied here on Sunday, calling for legislation this year to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and seeking to pressure President Obama to keep working on the contentious issue once the health care debate is behind him.



Demonstrators filled five lengthy blocks of the Washington Mall, down the hill from the Capitol where last-minute negotiations were under way on the health care bill. The immigrant activists, chanting Mr. Obama’s campaign slogan of “Yes we can” in Spanish and English, tried to compete with their numbers for public and media attention which were mainly focused on the climactic health care events in the House of Representatives.

The rally brought the return to major street action by immigration activists, who turned out hundreds of thousands of protesters in marches and rallies in 2006. After an immigration overhaul measure was defeated in Congress in 2007, the pace of enforcement raids picked up and many immigrants, especially those without legal status, preferred to lay low.

But immigrant advocates decided to gamble by calling the march, to give a show of force that might impress Mr. Obama and also to vent the frustration of many immigrants who have taken to heart his repeated promises that he would move an immigration bill in Congress by early this year.

Mr. Obama addressed the crowd via a videotaped message displayed on huge screens, promising to keep working on the issue but avoiding a specific time frame.

“I have always pledged to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system, and that’s a commitment that I reaffirm today,” Mr. Obama said.

He expressed his support for the outline of an immigration bill presented last week by Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. While pledging to help build bipartisan support, Mr. Obama warned, “You know as well as I do that this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight.”

But speaker after speaker rose to demand immigration legislation sooner rather than later, leaving aside any mention of the acrid political environment in Washington in the aftermath of the health care battle.

“Every day without reform is a day when 12 million hard-working immigrants must live in the shadow of fear,” said Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, a Democrat from New York who is the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Don’t forget that in the last presidential election 10 million Hispanics came out to vote,” she said. She told the crowd to tell lawmakers “that you will not forget which side of this debate they stood on.”

Representative Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois, a Democrat who has been a leader of the immigrants’ movement, said he was optimistic that Mr. Obama would try to get an immigration bill this year.

“I see a new focus on the part of this president,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “That’s why we are here to say we are not invisible.”

The urgency was echoed by church leaders who spoke, including Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, and Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, the leader of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the largest organization of Latino evangelical churches.

“The angst and trepidation in our communities is unprecedented,” Mr. Rodriguez said. He compared the mood among Latinos to the hard days of the civil rights movement. “This is our Selma,” he said.

Echoing that thought were an array of African-American leaders who turned out for the event. Speakers included the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Benjamin T. Jealous, president of the N.A.A.C.P; Cornel West, a Princeton scholar, and Marc H. Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans and the president of the National Urban League.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum and a leading organizer of the event, said that rallies were planned in several cities on April 10, the last day of the Congressional recess. On May 1, Mr. Noorani said, immigrant groups would release a report card of every lawmaker and where they stand on the immigration overhaul.

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, said he thought an immigration bill could pass at the end of the year, after the storm of the November elections had passed.

The crowd, overwhelmingly Latino immigrants, arrived on buses from California, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Colorado and many other places. Unions brought thousands of members, including dozens of workers from a meat-packing plant in Tar Heel, N.C.

While a few demonstrators waved flags from other countries, most flew American flags overhead, recalling the negative reaction from American voters to earlier protests where Mexican flags dominated. Farm workers from Florida held one billowing flag overhead and propped it with sticks, forming a tent.

In the crowd, frustration with Mr. Obama was strong. Rudy Romero, 19, and Andrea Rentaria, 23, said they boarded buses early Friday in Colorado with 54 other people, and 36 hours later, arrived in Washington. They said they were disappointed with the pace of progress on immigration.

“We’ve been waiting for so long,” Mr. Romero said. “I know it takes time, but a promise is a promise. We are demanding it today.”

Ms. Rentaria added, “We want to step up and say, ‘Hey, wake up. We’re here. We’re still waiting. We’ve given you time to settle in. When is this going happen?’ ”

“I understand you have to take care of health care,” Ms. Rentaria said. “As soon as we’re done with that,” she said, immigration should be next.

Although there were a few jeers for Mr. Obama during a morning rally, the crowd roared when he appeared on video.

Adrian Vasquez, 32, held up a sign reading “Support Our President, Immigration Reform Now!” Mr. Vasquez, who has been in the United States for 20 years and is now an illegal immigrant, admitted that the push for an overhaul “could not come at a worse time” for Mr. Obama.

But he said, “I’m eager for change. I think we can get it done.”

Theo Emery contributed reporting.

Revised Food Safety Law Predicted This Year - Wisconsinagconnection

Revised Food Safety Law Predicted This Year - Wisconsinagconnection
USAgNet - 03/22/2010

Speaking at Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit 2010, US Rep. DeLauro said she expects Congress to pass food safety law this year, which would include meat and poultry inspection. The bill could be held up because of trade implications but new trade deals should include food safety provisions. An expert panel of scientists should look at USDA system, she said.

Congress will pass a new law to overhaul the antiquated US food safety system by the end of the year, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, an influential House lawmaker, said last week at Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit 2010.

The first major reform of the system in 50 years could be followed by another close look at how meat and poultry are inspected, and the changes may create friction with trade partners, said the chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.

"I have every confidence that we are going to pass food safety legislation and this legislation is going to get to the president for a signature and that that's going to happen this year," said Connecticut Democrat, DeLauro, who was speaking at the Reuters Summit.

The House passed its bill last July. But a companion Senate bill has been held up by work on health-care and financial regulatory reform. It also has been stalled by the Trade Representative's office, which wants to ensure reforms do not contravene trade agreements, DeLauro said.

Mayor's agriculture plan soon to bear fruit SF Gate

Mayor's agriculture plan soon to bear fruit SF Gate



Vegetable gardens will soon be sprouting in unlikely places throughout San Francisco including a building that produces steam to heat the Civic Center, Department of Public Works land in the Bayview, outside McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park and at the San Francisco Police Academy in Diamond Heights.



The public library has installed gardens outside its Mission and Noe Valley branches with plans for more and is leading classes for teens on how to cultivate them.

And the city may soon adopt proposals from private groups to install easy-to-assemble chicken coops in its gardens and send mobile vegetable markets to school pick-up zones and other busy destinations.

It's all the result of Mayor Gavin Newsom's executive directive eight months ago to reshape how San Franciscans think about food and choose what to eat.

"Urban agriculture is about far more than growing vegetables on an empty lot," Newsom told The Chronicle. "It's about revitalizing and transforming unused public spaces, connecting city residents with their neighborhoods in a new way and promoting healthier eating and living for everyone."

Newsom unveiled the unusual plan in July. His directive required that all city departments conduct an audit of unused land - including empty lots, windowsills, median strips and rooftops - that could be converted into gardens.

He also demanded that food vendors that contract with the city offer healthful food and that vending machines on city property do the same. He required that farmers' markets accept food stamps, though some already did. He also put a stop to doughnuts and other junk food at city meetings and conferences.

The plan was deemed silly by some who said it shouldn't be a priority for the cash-strapped city, but Newsom remains adamant there are long-term benefits to urban agriculture.

"There's no better preventative medicine and no easier way to reduce health care costs for the long term than teaching our residents and our children to eat healthier," he said, pointing to First Lady Michelle Obama's White House garden as proof it's a matter of national concern.

Newsom today will break ground on a new garden at a steam powerhouse owned by the Department of Public Works at McAllister and Larkin streets, and the food grown at the farm will go to volunteers who help care for it. Several other gardens have recently gone up or soon will. The library is eyeing gardens at seven more branches.

The city is partnering with a variety of private groups and nonprofits to build individual gardens, and it's mostly those groups that are picking up the tab for seeds and other supplies.

The Department of the Environment has started an Urban Gleaning Program to teach people how to plant fruit trees, supply local food pantries with fresh food and manage a listserv for those interested in urban agriculture.

Sales at San Francisco farmers' markets to those using food stamps increased 85 percent last year. The public health department this summer will begin hosting cooking classes at the Alemany and Fillmore farmers' markets.

A project is under way to ensure the food served at the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department is locally grown and nutritious.

The city also helped launch a competition last fall seeking innovative designs related to urban agriculture and is likely to begin using some of the favorites. They include Chicken Cribs - billed as "the quick and easy, self-assembly urban chicken coop" - and Mobile Markets, carts stocked with produce that can easily be taken to any busy locale.

Astrid Haryati, the mayor's greening director, said the food grown on city property will either be given at low or no cost to neighbors or distributed to local farmers' markets. But she noted there's a benefit beyond healthful food: a more beautiful landscape.

"It's not only about feeding mouths," she said. "It's about feeding the soul and feeding the pride of San Francisco urban dwellers."

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

Supersized Last Supper: Christ's final dinner portions 'grow with obesity crisis' - The Telegraph


Supersized Last Supper: Christ's final dinner portions 'grow with obesity crisis' - The Telegraph


Researchers compared the size of food in 52 of the most famous portrayals of Jesus Christ and his disciples at their final meal before his death and found dramatic changes. The size of the main dish grew 69 per cent; the size of the plate, 66 per cent; and the bread, 23 per cent, between the years 1000 and 2000.

"Supersizing" - a term that became popular in the mid-1990s and describes the ability of McDonalds' customers to increase portion sizes - is often considered a modern phenomenon. But "what we see recently may be just a more noticeable part of a very long trend," said Brian Wansink, a food behaviour scientist at Cornell University who conducted the study with his brother Craig, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virgini



"We think that as art imitates life, these changes have been reflected in paintings of history's most famous dinner," he added.

He believes that the wider availability of food has led gradually over the millennium to the phenomenon of serving bigger portions on larger plates.

Computer technology allowed the brothers to scan, rotate and calculate images regardless of their orientation in the paintings, judging the size of the portions against the size of the heads of the disciples.

Details of the study will be published in the April issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

But some questioned the accuracy of the study. The study is "not very meaningful science," said Martin Binks, a behavioural health psychologist and a consultant at Duke University Medical Centre. "We have real life examples of the increase in portion size - all you have to do is look at what's being sold at fast-food restaurants."

A more contemporary test would be to analyse portion sizes in advertisements during American football's Super Bowl, he suggested.

Japan Feb Supermarket Sales -2.4% Y/Y, Down 15 Months In Row - Imarket


Japan Feb Supermarket Sales -2.4% Y/Y, Down 15 Months In Row - Imarket


TOKYO (MNI) - Sales at supermarkets in Japan open for at least a year fell 2.4% in February from a year earlier to Y933.3 billion as consumers remained frugal amid falling wages and high unemployment, an industry group said on Tuesday.

But the year-on-year drop shrank from the previous month thanks to good sales of flat-screen TVs, bicycles and some spring clothing, the Japan Chain Stores Association said.

It was the 15th consecutive year-on-year drop in supermarket sales following -4.9% in January. The last y/y rise in sales was +0.6% marked in November 2008.

The figures are based on the combined sales at 68 supermarket chains which together operate 8,201 outlets. The numbers have been adjusted to facilitate comparison on a same-store basis.

Including sales at stores newly opened during the past year, revenue fell 2.0% from a year earlier in February, down for the 27th consecutive month after falling 4.3% the previous month. The last time sales under this category rose was in November 2007 (+0.5% y/y).

Surprise! Harsh Supermarket Lights Add Nutrients to Spinach - Fast Company


Surprise! Harsh Supermarket Lights Add Nutrients to Spinach
- Fast Company

Think the spinach in supermarkets isn't as nutrient-packed as the stuff that comes straight out of the ground? Think again. The unpleasant fluorescent lighting found in grocery stores actually enhances the nutritional value of spinach, according to a study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Chemistry.

The researchers involved in the study found that spinach in clear plastic containers kept at 30 degrees F and exposed to fluorescent lighting for 24 hours a day contained boosted levels of vitamins C, K, E, folate, lutein, and zeaxanthin after just three days. Nine days on, folate levels increased by 84% to 100%, while Vitamin K levels increased between 50% and 100%.

Does this mean we should go for supermarket fruits and veggies over farm-fresh varieties? Not exactly. A recent study from IFR EXTRA showed that vegetables on supermarket shelves can lose up to 45% of their nutritional value between the time they are picked and land in stores. Spinach might be an exception. Eventually, though, the researchers hope to use fluorescent lights to improve the value of a number of vegetables--so supermarket produce might not be so bad in the end.

A push for healthier school meals - TDN

A push for healthier school meals - TDN



PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Baltimore eyed the pizza in the cafeteria of the High School of the Future with simmering contempt.

"In a year," the school administrator vowed, "we're going to eliminate pizza."

Unlike most city schools, the technologically specialized West Philadelphia school has a full kitchen where many meals are prepared practically from scratch. Like just four other schools, it gets $5,000 a year in extra funding from the district to buy fresh produce. There's even a vegetable garden.

Future is emblematic both of what healthy school eating can look like and of Philadelphia's place in the forefront of cities seeking to improve school meals.

But Future is a relative anomaly. And, according to Baltimore and others, much work has to be done to get other schools in the city — as well as across America - up to that same standard.

Denigrating most district meal offerings as "slop," Baltimore said: "The more we phase out garbage, the better our students will be."

Baltimore's call for change coincides with a movement to make school meals healthier.

There's a battle on to beat back childhood obesity and to fight hunger among poor children, more of whom are eating subsidized school meals because of the economy. Often, schools serve the only nutritious meals children eat, advocates say.

Within two weeks, Congress is expected to vote on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which funds the $12 billion-a-year school-meal programs, among others.

It's the first reauthorization in more than five years, and President Obama, who has pledged to end child hunger by 2015, wants to add $10 billion to it over 10 years.

His administration also wants to increase the reimbursement rate for meal programs, saying it will help districts afford healthier food.

Though many suburban districts have fewer poor students, a move to more healthful offerings would apply to those schools as well.

Recently, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, to assess school meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers school food programs.

The conclusion: Too much sugar, salt and fat. First lady Michelle Obama, in Philadelphia last month for her campaign against childhood obesity, concurred.

The institute did the first major overhaul of school nutritional rules since the 1970s, said the director of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Nutrition Center, Virginia Stallings, who headed the effort. The report calls for more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, while limiting fat, calories and sodium. If accepted, the IOM's recommendations could be in place by 2011.

The reauthorization is also inspiring proposed changes rooted in a 19-year-old local program.

In Philadelphia, all children in schools with high concentrations of poverty eat free meals without filling out forms. This avoids what advocates say are costly and stigmatizing applications that deter kids from eating. A bill to make the Philadelphia program the law of the land has been introduced by Sens. Bob Casey and Arlen Specter, both Pennsylvania Democrats.

Further, Vilsack announced that the reauthorization bill should limit the sale of high-sugar drinks and snacks in school vending machines. And he wants to curtail "a la carte" items - non-USDA-sanctioned snacks that schools sell to make money.

That also reflects a local practice. "The Philadelphia school district is a national leader in getting soda and junk foods out of schools," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy with the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. She noted that the district also has banned fried foods: "Now the rest of the country must follow Philadelphia's lead.

"With so much happening, all the stars are aligned for us to make progress this year."

Change is vital, say doctors who see obese children with adult illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wants to improve nutrition by mandating vegetarian meals in schools, said Kathryn Strong, the organization's dietitian.

Others agree. "If we take 100 calories a day out of school meals, we move the needle on obesity," said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.

The Institute of Medicine is attacking calories. Until now, USDA school-meal guidelines have stipulated minimum calories only, without any upper limits. In the 1970s when the minimums were first set, doctors were worried that children weren't eating enough, Stallings said.

For example, the only rule about calories in lunches for kids in grades seven through 12 has been that they contain at least 825 calories. The new proposal calls for a range of calories: no fewer than 750 calories, but no more than 850 calories per lunch for that age group.

"That's a big change," Stallings said, acknowledging that the institute's recommendations would increase food costs — 18 percent for breakfast, 4 percent for lunch.

A whole-grain bun can be 10 cents more than a regular bun, said Wayne Grasela, senior vice president of the division of food services for Philadelphia schools.

As a remedy, Vilsack is asking Congress for an increase in the USDA reimbursement.

Throughout the country, the USDA reimburses school districts for meals on a scale connected to income.

The agency pays $2.68 per free lunch for children whose families live below 130 percent of the U.S. poverty level; $2.28 for reduced-price lunches for children at 130 to 185 percent of poverty; and about 25 cents for full-price lunches for those above 185 percent. (The poverty level for a family of four is about $22,000.)

Breakfast reimbursements run about $1 less per meal.

The nonprofit School Nutrition Association requested a 35-cent-per-meal increase.

In 2009, about 32 million children participated in the school-lunch program, with nearly 64 percent receiving free or reduced-price meals, USDA figures show. About 11 million ate breakfast at school, with about 84 percent eating free or reduced-price meals.

In Philadelphia, as many as 120,000 lunches and 58,000 breakfasts are served each day, the vast majority free or reduced-price.

From 2008 through 2009, the number of children eating subsidized lunch nationwide increased by 600,000, attributable to the bad economy, Wootan said.

About 20 percent of the food in school cafeterias comes from the USDA commodities program, a list of 180 foods donated by the agency. The rest is purchased on the open market with reimbursement dollars.

Beef and cheese make up 75 percent of the items districts get from the commodities list, Wootan said. Many districts — Philadelphia included - divert fresh commodities to processors, Wootan said. "Too many schools turn chicken into nuggets, or pork into pizza toppings," she said.

In Philadelphia schools, much of the food comes from a Brooklyn, N.Y., distributor, which prepares, packages, and ships frozen meals to schools to be warmed, Grasela said. Two-thirds of city schools - mostly elementary and middle schools - have no kitchens, said Sandy Sherman, director of nutrition education at the nonprofit Food Trust in Philadelphia.

Many high schools have kitchens where meals are cooked that "are better, fresher," Sherman said.

At Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School, which once had a full kitchen, it would cost $112,000 to build a new one, said science teacher Abby Pelcyger. "I'd prefer them eating fresher foods," she said, "but the district's hands are tied."

The food isn't loved. "I have questions about serving children things in heated plastic," said Alison McDowell, mother of a third grader at William M. Meredith Elementary School in Queen Village. "Food is thrown out because kids don't enjoy it."

Buns and doughnuts — USDA-approved — are part of breakfast in some schools, several teachers complain.

Jasmine Brown, 15, a freshman at the High School of the Future, said that what she eats now is so much better than the "artificial" cafeteria fare of her middle school: "I never ate. It got me sick."

While students carp about school meals, they're superior to most foods kids consume outside school, experts say. Since 2007, Foster of Temple and others have followed a group of fourth through eighth graders from 10 Philadelphia schools in the streets.

The results: Even a poor child would spend an average of $1.07 per stop in a corner store. Kids took in an average of 360 calories each time, mostly from chips and drinks.

It's difficult to alter children's eating habits, advocates say. But these days, there's a growing will to try.

"There's change coming," said Charlie Baltimore. "From the White House down, there's more interest. We'll get where we want."

Chicago high schoolers to demand better food at board meeting - Chicago Trib

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Chicago high schoolers to demand better food at board meeting - Chicago Trib



When school officials defend serving a daily menu of nachos, pizza, burgers and fries, they often say they're just giving students what they want.

But you wouldn't know it by listening to an angry coalition of high school students who plan to speak out on Chicago Public Schools meals Wednesday at the monthly Chicago Board of Education meeting.

One of those students is Teresa Onstott, a sophomore at Social Justice High School who last week practiced a speech that details the "sickening pizza, chicken sandwiches and nachos" the district serves each day and urges the board not to renew the contract for the company providing the food.

That company, Chartwells-Thompson, has provided food service to the district for nearly a decade. This year its contract is up, and during the next month the board will be reviewing bids for the next CPS food service contract, valued at about $58 million a year.

The mild-mannered Onstott is one of about 20 students from various Chicago high schools who plan to protest the district's food at the board meeting and present members with other possible paths as they review the bids.

Onstott became involved with the issue as part of a school colloquium called "What's In Your Stomach" led by social studies teacher Jackson Potter. Students in the colloquium — which they take as part of a Social Justice service requirement — work on local issues through hands-on actions and civic engagement.

Potter chose school nutrition as an issue, and the students decided to address it through planting an organic garden, researching school food and testifying at a board meeting.

Jessica Ortega, a senior at the Little Village school, said she thinks the district should incorporate organic foods, "and if that's not possible, our food should actually be cooked in the cafeterias rather than being brought in by trucks and having the lunch ladies just heat it up."

The lack of working kitchens in the district is an important issue for many school food activists. But CPS says it will not allow any new working kitchens to be built in the district, even in new structures.

Ortega also wants schools to have flexibility to improve their own food. "Otherwise," she said, "they're just holding back the schools who want to serve healthier food. Charter schools already get to do that."

The students also plan to protest the absence of physical education classes for juniors and seniors.

The students' suggestions echo those of many adults studying school food. But kids have a vantage point most adults don't: They get to watch the lunch program in action five days a week. Sophomore Courtney Ceasar said he's concerned about classmates who daily gulp down "pizza, nachos, fries, chocolate milk and blue or green slushies. … We are seeing a lot of health problems in younger people today, and I don't want my nieces and nephews to have to deal with the same problems."

The high schoolers know better meals will cost more, which is why students from the South Side's Julian High School plan to offer cost-saving tips. First on the list: Stop forcing students to take foods they plan to throw away. Students from Hancock on the Southwest Side will speak on the nutritional content of CPS food.

Senn High School students created two presentations, according to their adviser, biology teacher Brian Roa. One encourages the district to serve more organic and nongenetically modified foods. The other examines the food safety record and corporate affiliations of Chartwells-Thompson.

Last week, however, the students learned that Senn officials had rejected their request for a Wednesday field trip without explanation. Roa said the students were very upset and he will deliver their speeches for them.

At Social Justice, part two of the nutrition colloquium involves planting an organic garden. The plot CPS gave them is on the outskirts of the school's playing field, just steps from moving freight trains and in the shadow of a coal-fired power plant. Undaunted, the students plan to use raised beds to grow organic produce that they hope to serve in the cafeteria.

Ortega knows it might be a rough adjustment. Still, she said: "If we could get used to the nasty food, why couldn't we get used to the healthy food too?"

U.S. Plans Spot Tests of Organic Products - NYT



U.S. Plans Spot Tests of Organic Products
- NYT


The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that it would begin enforcing rules requiring the spot testing of organically grown foods for traces of pesticides, after an auditor exposed major gaps in federal oversight of the organic food industry.

Spot testing is required by a 1990 law that established the basis for national organic standards, but in a report released on Thursday by the office of Phyllis K. Fong, the inspector general of agriculture, investigators wrote that regulators never made sure the testing was being carried out.

The report pointed to numerous shortcomings at the agriculture department’s National Organic Program, which regulates the industry, including poor oversight of some organic operations overseas and a lack of urgency in cracking down on marketers of bogus organic products.

The audit did not name growers or processors that marketed products falsely labeled organic or say where any such products had been sold.

The head of the National Organic Program, Miles McEvoy, said on Friday that enforcing testing rules was one of several steps the agency was taking to improve oversight of the industry. It will also require unannounced inspections of organic producers and processors and start regular reviews of organic products in stores to make sure they are correctly labeled and meet federal regulations, he said.

“There’s a real commitment from this administration to improve the integrity of this program,” Mr. McEvoy said.

The testing for pesticide residues is expected to begin in September. It will be done by the network of independent certifying agents that are already accredited by the department to inspect and certify organic growers, processors and handlers.

As of last July, 98 independent agents were licensed to inspect and certify about 28,000 organic operations worldwide, the inspector general’s report said.

Mr. McEvoy said that details of the pesticide inspections were still being worked out but that they would probably focus on growers whose risk of pesticide contamination might be highest, like those whose organic fields are cultivated next to nonorganic fields or those that raise both organic and conventional crops.

Some certifiers already do spot tests, he said, but many do not, testing only if they suspect a problem. The inspector general’s report said a review of four large certifiers, which were collectively responsible for inspecting almost a third of the organic operations nationwide, found that none did regular spot testing.

The organic program’s budget increased to $6.9 million for the current fiscal year, from $3.9 million the previous year, Mr. McEvoy said, while its staff is slated to nearly double, to 31 from 16. The Obama administration is seeking to increase the budget to $10 million in the next fiscal year and allow the program to expand to about 40 employees.

Christine M. Bushway, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, an industry group, said improved oversight, and more money to make it possible, were needed to ensure that consumers had faith in the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic seal. “Compliance and enforcement are critical to the seal and the long-term health of the industry,” she said.

Sales of organic products reached $26 billion last year and, until the recession hit, had been growing by double-digit percentages each year.

Ms. Bushway said the organic program never had the resources to keep up with the industry’s growth. “They were underfunded and understaffed,” she said.

The inspector general’s report focused largely on conditions at the organic program at the end of the Bush administration, from 2006 through 2008.

It said that in several cases officials had taken up to 32 months to act against producers or processors that had sold conventional products claiming they were organic — even as those products remained on the market. In one case, the report said, officials failed entirely to take action against an operator that, for two years, sold nonorganic mint under an organic label.

The report also said that the organic program had failed to adequately vet several of the independent certifying agents it allowed to approve organic operations in foreign countries.

Under normal circumstances, the program gives preliminary accreditation to certifying agents based on a review of paperwork they submit. That allows them to begin certifying and inspecting organic producers and processors. But the program is supposed to follow up with a site visit to inspect a certifier’s operations before making accreditation permanent.

In five cases, the inspector general found, officials failed to make the follow-up visits, allowing the certifiers to operate for as long as seven years with only preliminary accreditation.

Officials at the program said that in three cases, involving certifiers operating in Bolivia, Israel and Turkey, they did not send staff members to make the inspections because the State Department had issued travel warnings about potentially dangerous conditions in those countries.

In two other cases, involving certifying agents in Australia and Canada, officials said that scheduling problems blocked them from arranging visits — in one instance for as long as five years.

The Department of Agriculture said in its response to the audit that it had now visited and completed its review of four of the five foreign certifiers cited in the report and had scheduled a visit to the remaining certifier. It did not say if the reviews had found compliance problems.

The audit also highlighted numerous inconsistencies in the way that certifiers operating in the United States enforced organic regulations.

The report warned that officials must tighten oversight of the industry to give consumers the assurance “that products labeled as organic are meeting a uniform standard.”

Consumers Would See Impact Soon After Health-Care Bill's Enactment - WSJ

Consumers Would See Impact Soon After Health-Care Bill's Enactment - WSJ

For consumers, the vote on health-care legislation scheduled for Sunday could mean a slew of changes that would take effect within months. But the measure's biggest impact remains years away, and some of the benefits for consumers aren't assured of passage in the Senate.

If the House passes the two pieces of legislation that are up for a vote, the main bill that was approved by the Senate in December is expected to be signed shortly afterward by President Barack Obama. The other component, a package of changes sought by House members, would still need to pass the Senate before reaching the president's desk.




The primary bill would put about a half-dozen major consumer provisions in place six months after it is signed. Insurance companies would no longer be able to cancel enrollees' policies because they got sick, or to place lifetime caps on their policies' payouts. And children could stay on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday.

New insurance plans would have to cover the full cost of certain preventive care, and exempt such care from deductible payments. The requirement wouldn't apply to existing policies until 2018.

Starting this year, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 would be eligible for tax credits to cover up to 35% of their insurance premiums.

For patients frustrated by attempts to get reimbursed for insurance claims, the government would establish an ombudsman and a claims process to help them reconcile contested medical bills.

Many other provisions that would take effect this year won't become law unless the Senate passes the companion measure. Republicans plan to introduce parliamentary challenges to that package, and the Senate's parliamentarian already has jettisoned one provision, a federal panel to regulate insurance premiums. Among other things, the companion package would provide a $250 rebate this year to seniors who face a Medicare prescription-drug coverage gap known as the doughnut hole.


Critics of the legislation say the value of any immediate benefits would be outweighed by new taxes on insurers, drug companies, medical-device makers and wealthy individuals. The latest package of changes to the main bill would delay these taxes so they wouldn't take effect until closer to 2014. A new 3.8% tax on unearned income to help fund the overhaul would hit individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and families earning more than $250,000, starting in 2013.

The most significant provisions won't take effect until 2014. That's when the government will begin requiring most Americans to carry health insurance or be hit with a fine. If the bill carrying the changes gets approved, that fine starts at $95 a year or 1% of income, whichever is greater, capped at the cost of the average health-insurance plan. By 2016, the fine would rise to $695 a year, or 2.5% of income.

In 2014, lower earners would be eligible for two types of insurance expansion.

A family of four earning up to about $30,000 a year, in any state, would be eligible for Medicaid, the joint federal-state insurance program for the poor.




For those just above that income level, the government would begin handing out tax credits to offset the cost of buying insurance. A family of four earning just over the $30,000 threshold would pay no more than 3% of its income fpr insurance. That assistance stretches up to a family of four earning $88,000 so they would spend no more than 9.5% of their income on coverage.

Insurers would be barred from denying people coverage because of a pre-existing health condition, but that provision doesn't take effect until 2014 for adults. (Children would get the protection this year.) In the meantime, the bill would set up high-risk pools to help people with illnesses buy coverage.

People who already have insurance would be able to remain on their plans, and they likely wouldn't see significant changes. Large employer plans would for the most part be grandfathered in, although certain new provisions such as the one blocking lifetime coverage limits would apply to them.

The bill also puts more pressure on large employers to help pay for insurance. Companies with more than 50 workers that don't offer health-insurance coverage would pay an assessment of $2,000 per full-time worker if any of their workers gets a tax credit to buy coverage. Employers with more than 200 employees would be required to enroll all employees automatically in their health-insurance plans, though workers could still opt out.

Florida AG warns of commercial foreclosure crisis - Bizjournals.com

Florida AG warns of commercial foreclosure crisis - Bizjournals.com

A day doesn’t go by without some talk of the residential foreclosure crisis in the media. But the severity of that problem could be overshadowing yet a bigger problem looming on the horizon: commercial foreclosure.

Florida Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum wrote a letter to Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul Friday bringing the potential commercial foreclosure crisis to the Legislature’s attention and sharing what his office has been doing about it since 2007.

“As I learn more about the potential for massive commercial real property mortgage foreclosures, I am convinced that swift legislative remedial action this legislative session would avert some of the more devastating consequences of such foreclosures,” McCollum wrote in the letter.

The Attorney General’s office created the Interagency Mortgage Crisis Task Force in 2008 designed to help educate and assist homeowners about to go into foreclosure. The task force has hosted community forums on the problem, providing distressed homeowners with access to lenders, counselors, voluntary bar associations, and state and federal housing and finance agencies.

However, commercial foreclosures have the chance to have an “even greater potential to negatively impact the state and national economies” over the next four years, McCollum said. Nearly $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will reach the end of their terms between 2010 and 2014, and may spawn defaults, according to a February report of the Congressional Oversight Panel.

That could trigger economic damages to financial institutions, small business and families across the nation, McCollum said.

“As one of the largest markets in the nation for commercial real estate loans, Florida faces a significant risk of financial loss,” he said. “In anticipation of this crisis, the Legislature may wish to review current Florida law and the finding of the Congressional Oversight Panel.”

Other large states with similar demographic and growth issues already have put laws in the book that could ease the pain of commercial foreclosures. Florida should look at those laws to emulate here, McCollum said.

One example of the laws passed in other states is the “one action” rule where all claims can be consolidated into a single action or lawsuits seeking relief from borrowers personally before proceeding against the collateral can be prohibited. Other laws seek to establish a clear methodology for deficiency judgments, right of redemption and foreclosure defenses so that there are no ambiguities in the process.

Jamie Oliver Misses A Few Ingredients - School Nutrition Association

Jamie Oliver Misses A Few Ingredients - School Nutrition Association

Just like any good meal, the whole story is also incomplete if you leave out a few critical ingredients. In the case of ABC Network's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, the missing ingredients are the significant improvements school nutrition programs nationwide have made to the quality and nutrition of school meals.

The School Nutrition Association's (SNA) "State of School Nutrition 2009" survey of more than 1,200 school districts across the country found that nearly every school district offers students fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains and salad bars or pre-packaged salads. Most schools still bake items from scratch in their kitchens, and school districts are offering more vegetarian meals and locally sourced foods. School nutrition programs have reformulated kid favorites to make them healthy, like pizza prepared with whole wheat flour, low-fat cheese and low-sodium sauce.

Under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, school meals must contain no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat. School lunches must provide 1/3 of Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, and they must be served in age-appropriate portion sizes.

"School nutrition professionals must satisfy taste preferences and regional/cultural food influences to provide meals within nutrition guidelines that will be consumed by the students. Working within those guidelines and limited budgets, districts strive to provide a balance of fresh and homemade foods with healthier, nutritionally-formulated foods traditionally considered kid favorites - whole grain chicken nuggets that are baked at schools are not the same product served at most homes and restaurants," said School Nutrition Association president Dora Rivas, MS, RD, SNS and Executive Director of Child Nutrition Services for Dallas ISD (Tex.), "Children are increasingly recognizing and enjoying scratch-made and natural foods at schools nationwide, much like those suggested by Jamie Oliver, but communities, schools and parents must work together to shift food influences, encourage a greater role for exercise and help students improve their health."

SNA and its members share a common passion with Jamie Oliver and are constantly working to further improve the nutrition, taste and variety of school meals. School nutrition professionals are challenged every school day to prepare healthy school meals that meet federal nutrition guidelines within the limited budgets available. SNA is calling for increased funding for school meal programs and we welcome efforts to emphasize the importance of school meals for the more than 31 million children who rely on them every school day.

SNA is an active participant in the national debate on school nutrition and can provide evidence of the progress made in school districts across the US to provide an even greater variety of healthy foods in school meals.

Source
School Nutrition Association

Poll: Economy, deficit, top voter issues in Calif. SFGate


Poll: Economy, deficit, top voter issues in Calif.
SFGate

Voters rank California's abysmal economy and high unemployment rate, along with continuing uncertainty about the state's budget deficit, as the top issues facing the candidates vying to be governor, according to a Field Poll released Tuesday.

More than two-thirds of California voters ranked those issues as most important, followed by education, health care, taxes, immigration and water.

Democrats, Republicans and decline-to-state voters agree that jobs, the economy and the state budget are the most pressing problems facing the state this year, as California faces a 12.5 percent unemployment rate and another $20 billion budget shortfall.

All three leading candidates for governor have been sounding similar themes as they stump for votes. Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have argued for tax cuts, although they differ on the specifics, and creating a more business-friendly climate. They say those steps will go furthest in promoting an economic recovery.

The two are vying for their party's nomination in the June primary.

Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive of eBay, says she would focus on three priorities as governor: creating 2 million private sector jobs by 2015, cutting spending — partly by eliminating 40,000 state government jobs — and fixing education.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/23/politics/p060036D27.DTL&type=politics#ixzz0j0gIyZPj

GOVERNMENT ASKS BT BRINJAL DEVELOPERS TO DEPOSIT SEED STOCK - USDA FAS

GOVERNMENT ASKS BT BRINJAL DEVELOPERS TO DEPOSIT SEED STOCK - USDA FAS

The Government has said that Mahyco, the developer of Bt brinjal (egg plant), has been asked to deposit the seed stock with the National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resources to prevent any potential leakage and contamination till it’s safety is proven. "There is no chance of Bt brinjal making a backdoor entry through leakages of its seeds till it is cleared by an independent regulatory body," Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh informed the Rajya Sabha. He said some state governments, NGOs and sections of the scientific and farming communities have expressed apprehensions on the safety of Bt brinjal and its long-term impact on human health and environment. (Source: PTI, 03/15/10)

U.S. Pest Rules for Tomato Imports - USDA FAS

U.S. Pest Rules for Tomato Imports - USDA FAS

Tomatoes coming into Canada from countries known to have pest problems with tomato leafminer, a small moth that mainly attacks tomato crops, now need a temporary phytosanitary certificate declaring that the tomatoes originated in an area where tomato leafminer doesn't occur and that they were inspected and found free of the moth. While the moth can "severely" damage tomato crops in many countries, it can't survive Canadian winters. It can, however, pose a risk for hothouse tomato crops and for export trade with the United States. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is enforcing these temporary requirements until permanent measures are developed. The decision to implement the certification requirement follows new import requirements in the United States, under which tomatoes imported to Canada from countries infested with tomato leafminer will not be allowed into the United States without first meeting additional import requirements. The United States requires additional certification for tomatoes coming from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay or Venezuela.

‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

‘Environs’ Clears Initial Regulatory Hurdle - USDA FAS

Environment Canada recently determined that the genetically engineered Enviropig is not toxic to the environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The developers of Enviropig, the University of Guelph, applied for approval for commercialization both in Canada and the United States. This is the first of three regulatory hurdles which must be met in Canada. Full regulatory approval will also be dependent on other essential considerations such as consumer and market acceptance via Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Enviropig, the world's first transgenic animal created to solve an environmental problem, was created in 1999 with a snippet of mouse DNA introduced into their chromosomes, which causes the pigs to produce reduced phosphorus feces.

Probation ordered in SoCal supermarket labor fraud


Probation ordered in SoCal supermarket labor fraud

The Associated Press
Posted: 03/22/2010 06:07:40 PM PDT
Updated: 03/22/2010 06:07:40 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES—A federal judge has sentenced two former supermarket managers to probation for telling locked out employees to use false Social Security numbers so they could be rehired during the 2003-2004 Southern California grocery strike.

U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson on Monday sentenced Charles Vance of Norco and Randall Kruska of Leucadia to two years of probation each.

Prosecutors say the men, who were zone managers for Ralph's supermarkets, pleaded guilty to instructing locked out employees to falsely complete Internal Revenue Service and immigration forms during the six-month long strike.

A jury acquitted three Ralph's executives of similar charges last year.