Dec. 11 - Top headlines

I spent some of last night compiling some shipment numbers of fresh produce commodities from the first week of September to the first week of December. Hopefully, I can complete that work later today and post them.

Meanwhile, here are some top headlines snatched from the Web.

New climate treaty being negotiated Greenhouse gases rise by 70% since 1970, story says. U.N. treaty may be done in a year. But 650 scientists dissent.

Coverage of Great Lakes Fruits and Vegetables Show

Farmer's Best stays with Chep

Tomato industry recovering from salmonella scare but high costs, falling prices challenge growers
Story mentions plan by Florida Tomato Exchange to expand retail sales of field grown tomatoes that have given up space to greenhouse product. Despite supplies that are called 20% lower than a year ago, prices still lag.

Four quarters of declining GDP UCLA forecast says 2 million jobs lost in the next 12 months while deficit estimate is $1.5 trillion. Economist Roubini is quoted "The Fed and the Treasury are taking a massive amount of credit risk, endangering the long-term solvency of the U.S. government."


South Carolina's new immigration regs and Nebraska looking at tougher immigration rules and bad economy causes immigrants to head home.

On obesity: Gene may cause kids to crave junk food and one in three adults in the UK will be obese by 2012.

New Year's Resolutions are coming, such as heading to health club and eating better. But can we afford them? Here are some tips to get it done from American Diabetes Association. And Mother Earth News offers the 33 best foods for healthy living.

FBI probes Central Valley firm for racketeering SK Foods investigation for bribery of buyers of processed tomato products.

On organic: Organic to go reports results and organic demand wilts as economy suffers.

Local food banks feel economic strain..

Brands under pressure from cheaper options Mention of P&G Website to sell direct to consumers.

Packaged food trends in Convenience Store News, including some fresh produce items.

States cut funding to combat disease outbreaks Just what we need...


Cattlemen provide vigorous defense of COOL

Fruit or vegetable?

Tomato -- fruit or vegetable? Who among us hasn't been at a dinner party or other gathering at one time or another and had this question spur a heated debate?

A post at http://www.livescience.com/health/080722-fruit-what-is.html helps clear up the issue:

" ... in the world of botany, a fruit is the structure that bears the seeds of a plant. It is formed in the plant's flower. In the center, the female parts of the flower include the ovary. The ovary has structures inside that become the seeds when fertilized. So the ovary will develop into the fruit. To the plant, fruits are basically a means of spreading the seeds around, generally by wind or animal poop. In the latter case, fruits such as raspberries become thicker and accumulate sugars and bright colors, thereby attracting birds or other animals ..."

Tomatoes, for the record, are technically a fruit.


But don't expect to find a bunch of tomato farmers at the next fruit growers co-op meeting.

What about vegetables? According to Livescience:

"The term vegetable has no meaning in botany ... . Instead, the other produce is also classified, like the fruits, by whatever part of the plant they are. For example, rhubarb and celery are the stems, albeit very enlarged and juicy stems, of a leaf. Lettuce, kale, spinach and cabbage are the leaves of a plant."

As far as public perception goes, I'm guessing people generally think of fruit as produce that is sweet and vegetables as those commodities that are not -- a fairly accurate shortcut.

Florida welcomes FDA move on tomatoes

From the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange


MAITLAND, Fla. (July 17, 2008) – The Florida tomato industry welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement today that it is lifting its consumer advisory against tomatoes and that it found no evidence of salmonella saintpaul at any Florida facility.

We have long been confident that Florida’s tomatoes were not associated with the salmonella saintpaul outbreak, and this week our industry called on the FDA to clear our products. Tomatoes from Florida’s growing regions have been gone from the marketplace for weeks, so they could not have been the source of the contamination.

Food safety is a top priority for our industry. Nothing is more important than the confidence of consumers in Florida’s fresh produce. Those who grow, pack and ship fresh tomatoes voluntarily incorporate food safety as part of their everyday business practices. In fact, Florida set a precedent by being the first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive food safety program with mandatory government inspection and audits for tomato production. The program became effective July 1.

Consumer confidence has been shaken by this outbreak, and it will be important for our industry to take the steps necessary to help rebuild that confidence. That will be a top priority for us moving forward.

The pace of the traceback process has been frustratingly slow, and as a result the entire industry has suffered significantly for an outbreak it did not cause. Although they are still assessing their losses, Florida growers estimate that the FDA’s consumer advisory not to eat certain tomatoes will ultimately cost them millions of dollars. The industry is willing to work with the FDA, CDC and other health officials to determine how the agencies’ traceback process can be improved and the important lessons that can be learned from this outbreak.

Producers are clearly committed to taking whatever proactive steps are necessary to ensure Americans have access to the safest, healthiest and most nutritious fresh produce possible. The industry is continually using the latest scientific information available to improve food safety and security practices, and we already have invested millions of dollars to improve our food-safety practices.
There is no such thing as zero risk for fresh produce that is grown in an open, natural environment. However, we wholeheartedly support any information or guidance based on sound science that can help enhance the safety of produce, maintain and enhance consumer confidence, and increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables

FDA's new tomato safety initiative

The FDA has just announced the agency will begin a "multi-year Tomato Safety Initiative to reduce the incidence of tomato-related foodborne illness" in the U.S.

The Packer's Doug Ohlemeier will cover this story this week. Here is what the FDA said in the news release:

The initiative, part of FDA’s Produce Safety Action Plan, is a collaborative effort between FDA and state health and agriculture departments in Florida and Virginia. Several universities and members of the produce industry also are part of the effort. It will begin during this year’s growing season for Virginia in the summer and for Florida in the fall.

During the past decade, the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes has been linked to 12 different outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. Those outbreaks include 1,840 confirmed cases of illness. The majority of these outbreaks have been traced to products from Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia; however, tomato-associated outbreaks also have been traced to tomatoes from California, Georgia, Ohio, and South Carolina. The effort will include identifying practices or conditions that potentially lead to product contamination, which will allow FDA to continue to improve its guidance and policy on tomato safety. The initiative will evaluate the need for additional produce safety research, education, and outreach.

TK: The release says FDA investigators in coordination with their respective state counterparts will "visit tomato farms and packing facilities in Florida and Virginia to assess food safety practices and use of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)." Another quote, "The visits will allow FDA and state officials to evaluate a "variety of environmental factors including irrigation water, wells, procedures for mixing chemicals, drought and flooding events, and animal proximity to growing fields." I'm curious about how the FDA will organize these visits. Must farmers agree to allow FDA/state inspectors on their farms? If not, are there any ground rules established?