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July 13, 2010
· Fresh salsa, guacamole pose health risks
· Eastern growers struggle with brutal heat
· Hot peppers head for sub-zero seed vault
· Suterra opens new $35M biotech facility
· Book explores how food shapes the world
Fresh salsa, guacamole pose health risks
(The Wall Street Journal) – Hot or mild, the salsa and guacamole Americans love to order in restaurants may be packing an unexpected kick, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The dishes were blamed for one in 25 identified outbreaks of food poisoning at restaurants between 1998 and 2008—more than twice the rate of the previous decade, the CDC said. Often, the outbreaks were traced to raw hot peppers, tomatoes and cilantro—common ingredients in salsa and guacamole.
Uncooked foods, such as salsa and guacamole, are risky
because there is no heat to wipe out bad bacteria, says Lisa McBeth, who supervises food safety for the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain, based in
Magdalena Kendall, one of the researchers on the study at
the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, in
Salsa- and guacamole-related food-borne disease outbreaks from 1998 to 2008 represented 3.9% of outbreaks at food establishments in the period. That compares with 1.5% in the period from 1984 to 1997. Improper storage times and temperatures were reported in 30% of the outbreaks, and food workers were the reported source in 20%, the CDC said.
Most cases of food poisoning that occur each year are mild, the CDC says, although an estimated 5,000 people die of food-borne illness each year.
Eastern growers struggle with brutal heat
(philly.com)
– At Greenfield Farms in
The same was true across much of
With triple-digit temperatures and little or no rain, many growers expect to lose some of their snap beans, peppers, corn, and soybeans.
Others say that raspberries and blueberries are shriveling up, and that tomato and pumpkin plants could be unproductive because bees won't help pollinate them in temperatures above 95 degrees.
"We need rain. It's critical right now," said Roger Kumpel, owner of Greenfield Farms and president of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. "Pretty much all of us are affected."
In
Raspberries and blueberries "melt on the vine when it gets this hot," he said. "Things are browning out. We have been watering 24 hours a day for the last 21/2 weeks."
Heat and lack of precipitation force farmers to spend more money on gasoline to run the motors that pump water into the fields.
Last month was the hottest June on record, said Lynne Richmond, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
"The warmer-than-normal temperatures brought in crops," including sweet corn, tomatoes, and peaches, "earlier than usual," she said.
Warmth and an occasional soaking rain are good. Extreme heat and drought conditions are not.
In
"The forecast is not favorable," said Bill Troxell, executive secretary of the state Vegetable Growers Association, a nonprofit education and advocacy group that represents hundreds of farmers. "We need an inch or two of steady rain, not a quick downpour."
The future of many crops in
"Things were getting bad last week, but as soon as 100-degree temperatures hit this week, we've gone downhill, flying," Kumpel said. "Things are not good. We're desperate."
Hot peppers head for sub-zero seed vault
(physorg.com) – A new collection of some of North America's hottest foods—an eclectic range of New World chili peppers—were delivered to the cool Arctic Circle environs of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where their exotic tongue-scorching qualities can be kept safe for centuries.
The seeds were delivered to the vault by a seven-person
bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress, led by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin
(D-MD), Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and including Assistant
Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL). The seeds were handed over to Dr.
Cary Fowler, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the
institution that funds the operation and management of the seed vault, as well
as the transport of unique seeds from collections around the world. The latest
samples of seeds come from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) in
Other members of the bipartisan delegation are: Chris Smith (R-NJ), the Helsinki Commission's Ranking Republican; Senator Tom Udall (D-NM); Representative Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY); Representative Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL); and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).
The so-called "doomsday" seed vault now contains seeds of more than 525,000 crop varieties, making it the most diverse assemblage of crop diversity amassed anywhere in the world. Overall, this week's deposit consists of a total of 537 varieties of 13 crops.
Suterra opens new $35M biotech facility
(Cascade
Business News) – A gala crowd of business and civic leaders gathered in
The 92,000 square foot facility sitting on some eight acres includes state-of-the-art laboratories, offices, storage and manufacturing space, together with expansion potential slated to accommodate the growing company’s needs for the foreseeable future.
Suterra is acknowledged as a leader in the field of “biorational” pest control products - which utilize naturally occurring compounds and biochemicals such as pheromones - generally considered a more environmentally sound alternative to traditional pesticides in being non-toxic to humans and animals, leaving no harmful residue, not contaminating groundwater and not disrupting beneficial insect populations.
The main “mating disruption” product lines disperse
pheromones specific to particular pests, which confuse the insects and make it
hard for them to find a mate. They are used to help protect such crops as
almonds, apples, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, walnuts and certain
vegetables, and the company has offices in locations from
Suterra’s technical representatives manage all critical steps in the pest control program, from hanging traps to post-season analysis, and its reputation and expertise are internationally recognized by university entomologists, government agencies and farming organizations.
The company originated as an offshoot of Bend Research, Inc. known as Consep – which employed proprietary membrane technology to coat, protect and mete out a constant supply of the active ingredient for maximum efficiency – and was re-named Suterra in 2001 after being acquired by Roll International, a privately held $2 billion corporation owned by California-based entrepreneurs and well-known philanthropists Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
The umbrella group covers an eclectic and diverse range of
interests including agriculture, consumer packaged goods and floral services –
from Fiji Water to POM juices, the world’s largest floral wire service
Teleflora, largest global pistachio and almond producer Paramount Farms and
Suterra’s new plant currently has
69 employees, with up to 15 additional jobs expected to be created in the next
few months after the move from the former base of operations, which was less
than half the size, across town on
Johnson said: “There was a pressing need for more room as the previous location had accumulated a lot of new equipment and the layout was no longer efficiently accommodating the use.
“The new facility is designed to accommodate our ‘lean manufacturing’ flow philosophy to maximize efficiency while minimizing waste, and we have also allowed for future expansion potential.”
Johnson said the parent company had considered logically
moving Suterra closer to its base of operations in
Another factor in the decision was the diligence of groups like Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) which worked on the deal, and the City of Bend which fast-tracked a land sale to Suterra and assisted with facilitating necessary infrastructure and permitting for the Juniper Ridge site.
Suterra’s new cutting-edge lab area spanning 5,000 square feet will act as a catalyst for research, development and commercialization of further ground-breaking environmentally conscious pest control products. The site also accommodates some 20,000 sq ft of offices and a separate 5,000 sq ft chemical storage building, with the balance of the space dedicated to manufacturing.
Johnson said an array of sustainable practices had been incorporated in the building project, which is sheathed by over 800 durable pre-cast concrete panels and topped by a reflective roof, which could accommodate solar panels in the future.
Clerestory windows allow for ample natural light to minimize the need for operation of the energy-efficient high bay plant lighting.
The heating system is also primarily hot-water based, with supplementation via natural gas whenever necessary, while sustainable materials are utilized throughout the facility, which also features screening sunshades on the exterior.
Native landscaping is utilized, as well as drip irrigation, while permeable paving in the loading areas mitigates storm water run-off on-site.
The facility’s high-end fire sprinkler system includes three-way seismic loops and a tray floor to capture and contain liquid material in the event of an incident. The data room is protected by an advanced environmentally-friendly inert Sapphire fire suppression system, while the storage building features a foam fire suppression system which is also supplemented by a trench drain and containment system to guard against any escape of material from the building.
Suterra Senior Process and Facilities Engineer Heather MacKinnon said carbon and process-specific PA blend filtration banks were also used to screen out chemicals used in particular areas, and any atmospheric emissions are pushed at least 40 feet in the air via powerful strobic fans, negating the need for 60-foot outlet stacks. The company received a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) air quality permit for the plant following a detailed public information process.
Sioux City, Iowa-based Younglove
Construction, LLC acted as the building contractor on the project, with Roll
International as the overall general contractor. Younglove
is one of
Younglove Senior VP Bill Bradbury,
who oversaw the
“The construction type promotes efficiency and speed and we were pleased to work with a great talented team on this project, including mostly local subcontractors.”
MacKinnon said that as reportedly the largest farmer in California, Mr. Resnick had used Suterra’s products even prior to acquisition of the company, adding: “I think the idea of a non-toxic approach – i.e. pest control without using anything that ends in a ‘cide’ – was also seen as a compatible fit with his green sustainable philosophy.”
Project Architect Blaise Cacciola, of Bend-Based BBT Architects, said: “There was no set design template initially; rather we received a list of functions and rooms to incorporate.
“Thereafter, we went through our programming process involving research and decision-making with stakeholders to identify the scope of the work.
“This really was a great collaborative process all round, and I think the end result is a testament to the quality of input and hard work of everyone involved.”
The “whole building” integrated design approach involving end-users in the planning and programming phases is geared towards optimizing efficiency.
Efficiency in materials handling is also key for Suterra and
the parent company, which subscribe to the lean manufacturing theory pioneered
by
Receiving loading bays can accommodate larger equipment, with the bulk of the manufacturing in the center and outgoing bays flanking the opposite side of the building.
MacKinnon said: “Involvement in the design process included everyone from the operational level to the company president.
“After being in a somewhat cramped space previously, people realized it was their ‘one shot’ to have their say in the final outcome and there was a lot of creative input and practical compromise to arrive at the optimal eventual solution.
“One big plus for the working environment is the scope for natural light in the R & D areas where technicians often work in rather darker environs. There is a reason they’re often called ‘lab rats’!”
Book explores how food shapes the world
(Wire Services) – Well-meant initiatives such as Barack
Obama's Feed the Future and "Buy Local" efforts will not be end the
world's food crisis, according to a
Evan Fraser, a new U of G geography professor and agricultural expert, explores why such one-solution plans historically fail in his just-published book, Empires of Food: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilization.
Written with
For example, Fraser says the
“Then the food is exported, taken out of the regions where it is needed most. Essentially, it means you feed the rich, and the people who are starving starve faster. History has shown us this over and over again.”
And “buy local” movements that encourage people to purchase goods produced within a 100-mile radius put too much pressure on regions to produce everything for everyone. “When you try to do everything yourself, you end up doing nothing well,” he said.
In the book, Fraser and Rimas explain how it’s possible that, in an era of astounding agricultural productivity, groundbreaking technology and genetically modified crops, food supplies are in peril.
Fraser says it’s a case of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Throughout history, cities, culture, arts, government and even religion have been founded on the creation and exchange of food surpluses. “But eventually, inevitably, the crops fail, the fields erode or the temperature drops.” The result is famine, poverty and devastation, he said.
Using the colourful diaries of a
seventeenth century food merchant as a guide, Fraser and Rimas
chronicle the fate of people and societies for the past 12,000 years through
the foods that they grew, hunted, traded, and ate. This includes discussing the
shift that took place about 10,000 years ago from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle
to settled agriculture, which they say wiped out soil’s fertility. They then
chronicle food’s cyclic history, covering everything from how medieval monks
traded beer and cheese as they spread Christianity through Europe to
They also delve into why and how today’s environment is paying the price for practices of the past. “In the twentieth century, there was plenty of good weather, abundant soil and fertilizer, things grew and there was bountiful supply,” Fraser said.
“But the lessons of history cannot be avoided, and what we experienced in the twentieth century will not be repeated in the twenty-first century. Soil is eroding and degrading all over the world, we’ve created an extremely inefficient and highly- fragile monoculture, and we have more people than we have food.”
To make a difference, governments will have to step up efforts in everything from labelling to regulations, Fraser said. “And we need to get the consumers as excited about food as they are about things such as the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s cool and exciting to be engaged with food.”
End Transmission