" I heard it through the AgLine"

July 21, 2011

 

 

·       Food firms sneaking veggies into recipes

·       How Americans view organic food options

·       Survey eyes produce industry compensation

·       Commercial vehicle regs and ag machinery

·       Somalia suffering worst famine in 20 years

 

 

Food firms sneaking veggies into recipes

 

(Associated Press) – It looks like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and Kraft says it tastes just like the original. But a new ingredient is lurking inside this version of the American family dinner staple—cauliflower.

 

Don’t tell the kids!

 

Kraft Foods is the latest large food manufacturer to try hiding additional veggies in packaged foods, an effort to ride a renewed interest in healthy eating to fatter profits. It’s a slowly growing trend, and it’s one that is dividing food industry experts.

 

In June, Walmart and Target stores started stocking Kraft Macaroni& Cheese Dinner Veggie Pasta across the country, alongside boxes of the traditional recipe and other alternative versions, including organic and whole grain. Every neon-orange cup serving of the new recipe packs a half-serving of cauliflower.

 

Kraft joins brands such as ConAgra Foods’ Chef Boyardee, which includes enough tomato in some of its canned pasta to claim half a cup of vegetables per serving, and Unilever’s Ragu pasta sauces, which says it has two servings of veggies for every half cup of sauce.

 

In the Kraft product, the company freeze-dries cauliflower and pulverizes it into a powder, then uses that powder to replace some of the flour in the pasta.

 

“We know moms are always looking to please their kids and wanting to not make meals a big ordeal, insofar as being able to get them to eat their food,” said Alberto Huerta, who oversees the Kraft Macaroni&Cheese brand at Kraft. “Mom is looking for ways to sneak veggies into her kids’ diet.”

 

In Canada, the cauliflower-based pasta has been available since March. It immediately became one of the faster- selling versions of the dish, Huerta said. It also drew new Kraft Dinner consumers, boosting overall revenue growth for the entire product line.

 

Kraft’s move is a variation on a theme espoused by several recent— and highly successful—cookbooks. Missy Chase Lapine is author of the “Sneaky Chef” series of cookbooks, in which she promotes a system of color-coded, pureed fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables that can be mixed into foods such as macaroni and cheese (yams or cauliflower), spaghetti (carrots and sweet potato) and brownies (baby spinach and blueberries).

 

“The ideal, of course, is you steam up some local, organic, freshly picked cauliflower, and your child eats it outright with a little mist of olive oil, happily,” Lapine said.

 

But like Kraft, Lapine takes a practical approach. “Food is only healthy if you can get someone to eat it,” she said.

 

Harry Balzer, who tracks Americans’ eating patterns for the NPD Group, a market research firm, says parents are making genuine attempts to get healthier foods into their kids. Fruits now make up 6 percent of kids’ diets, the largest share since he started tracking kids’ consumption 30 years ago. Meantime, cookies, cake, presweetened cereal, candy and carbonated soft drinks are at their lowest level, in terms of their share of kids’ diets.

 

But vegetables, which peaked as a percentage of kids’ diets in 1984, remain a sticking point. They’re a hassle for parents to buy and keep fresh, they’re not generally seen as snack foods the way fruits are, and they’re rarely served alone as a main dish. That means if someone is cooking at home, vegetables are added work. And when they are available, many kids simply aren’t biting, the analyst said.

 

And while parents may have good intentions to buy healthier options, a higher vegetable content doesn’t top the list of criteria.

 

“I don’t think there’s a food company in America that doesn’t have on its radar the health and wellness of Americans, as a market,” Balzer said. “They think it’s a driving force in our behavior. I know it’s not. I know the driving force of our behavior is taste buds.”

 

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How Americans view organic food options

 

(NPR) – Are organic foods all they're cracked up to be?

 

We've been curious about how Americans view their food options. Concerns about toxins in some produce have led some people we know to go organic. But recent outbreaks of foodborne illness tied to organically grown sprouts in Europe underscore that an organic label isn't exactly a free pass to health.

 

So in the latest NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll, we asked more than 3,000 adults across the country about their attitudes toward organic food.

 

A solid majority — 58 percent — say they prefer to eat organic over non-organic food. Thirty-one percent favor non-organic food and 11 percent don't care one way or the other.

 

But the fondness for organic food isn't universal. Older people don't care for it nearly as much as the rest of the population. Among people 65 and older, 45 percent prefer organics, 38 percent like non-organics better and 17 percent don't care.

 

The top reasons people prefer organics: 36 percent want to support local farmers and 34 percent are concerned about toxins, such as pesticides, in non-organic food. The worries about toxins are strongest among people with at least a college education.

 

So, what about the people who prefer non-organic food? A majority — 54 percent — say organic food is too expensive. Harsh weather and strong demand for all kinds of food are pushing prices higher across the board, as NPR's Marilyn Geewax reported last month.

 

After price, the second-most common reason people prefer non-organics is that they're more readily available, a sentiment expressed by 21 percent of respondents.

 

When it comes to buying produce, 43 percent of people would like to get their fruits and veggies at a farmers market. Supermarkets come in second at 32 percent. And home gardens are third at 20 percent.

 

Finally, we wondered about eating out. Do organic labels on menu items affect how Americans order? Not so much, it turns out. About a third of people — 34 percent — said they do prefer organic restaurant, but that leaves about two-thirds of people uninterested or unmoved by organic options.

 

The telephone poll was conducted during the first half of May, and the margin for error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. To see the questions and more details about the responses, click here.

 

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Survey eyes produce industry compensation

 

(United Fresh Produce) – New report measures compensation in thirty job functions and multiple produce industry segments nationwide.

 

Bonuses account, on average, for 30 percent of C-suite executive (CEO, COO, CFO) compensation, according to a new survey of produce industry compensation and benefits released today by the United Fresh Foundation, through its Center for Leadership Excellence.

 

The confidential survey of 119 produce industry companies measures employee compensation and benefit data for a wide range of full-time positions including sales and marketing, production and operations, quality control and assurance, administration, finance and accounting, and executives. The survey was open to U.S.-based produce industry employers including grower-shippers, brokers, wholesaler-distributors, importers, exporters and fresh-cut processors.

 

“This new report offers compensation data from multiple market segments across the nation,” said United Fresh Senior Vice President of Member Services Victoria Backer.  “This is a terrific yardstick by which produce companies can gauge their salary and benefit levels to ensure their competitiveness within the industry, increase profitability, and not only attract new talent, but also retain the valuable employees already on the team,” said United Fresh Senior Vice President of Member Services Victoria Backer.

 

United’s compensation survey shows detailed salary and benefits information on companies, sorted by ownership type, type of business, produce sales volume, number of full-time employees and geography.

 

The survey represents a wide range of the industry with regard to company size, with 32 percent of responses coming from companies with between 100 and 499 full time employees, and almost 17 percent coming from companies with fewer than 20 full time employees. Also represented is a large range of sales volumes, including 30 percent of responses from companies doing more than $100 million in annual volume, and 22 percent from companies doing less than $15 million in sales annually.

 

Additional information in the compensation report includes:

 

·       Adjustments to salary structure during the current fiscal year and anticipated adjustments for the coming year

·       Basic healthcare plans provided by companies

·       Retirement plans offered by companies          

 

The survey concept was developed by the United Fresh Grower-Shipper Board, which identified an important need for a national compensation survey for the fresh produce industry.  To help ensure the broadest and most beneficial input for the produce supply chain, a task force with members from the United Fresh Grower-Shipper Board, Fresh-Cut Processor Board, and Wholesaler-Distributor Board was formed in December 2010. The Task Force reviewed and provided input to help determine the top 30 positions within the industry that would be most valuable to industry members.  In February 2011, the survey was sent to the industry and 119 surveys were completed. Industry Insights, an Ohio-based company that specializes in industry compensation research, administered the survey on behalf of United’s Foundation.

 

“The produce industry competes with other industries for attracting and keeping the best talent. United’s Grower-Shipper Board strongly supported the idea of conducting a national compensation survey to help industry employers stay competitive in the workplace,” said Fred Williamson, president of Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce and chairman of United’s Grower-Shipper Board.

 

The final survey report is now available to members of United Fresh for $495 and non-members for $695. Companies who participated in the survey receive an additional discount. The survey can be purchased here, and more information is available by contacting Victoria Backer at 202-303-3400, ext. 408, or vbacker@unitedfresh.org

 

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Commercial vehicle regs and ag machinery

 

(Wire Services) – Agriculture-related off-road equipment should not be regulated for use on public roads with the same requirements as commercial motor vehicles, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering changing current regulations as they relate to agricultural equipment.

 

"AEM submitted comments yesterday to help clarify the definitions for off-road agriculture equipment and explain why off-road ag machines should not be regulated in this way," said Nick Yaksich, AEM's vice president global public policy. "We continue to work with our members and industry groups on this important issue."

 

FMCSA requested public comments on rules pertaining to off-road farm machines in the context of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. It has extended the response deadline from June 30 to August 1 to gain further guidance on the following:

 •The distinction between interstate and intrastate commerce in deciding whether certain transportation by commercial motor vehicles within the boundaries of a single state are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations;

•The factors that states are using to decide whether farm vehicle drivers transporting agricultural commodities, farm supplies and equipment are subject to the commercial driver’s license regulations; and

•The determination of whether off-road farm equipment and implements of husbandry operated on public roads are considered commercial motor vehicles.

 

In a letter to FMCSA, the association stated that the primary purpose of off-road farm equipment or implements of husbandry is for use in agricultural operations for the production of food, fiber, feedstock and renewable fuels; while these machines may be incidentally operated on a public roadway and generally limited to rural roads, they are not designed with a primary purpose in mind of transporting passengers or property.

 

AEM also provided commentary on FMCSA “proposed guidance”  language, further emphasizing the need to exclude agriculture-related off-road equipment in the regulations.

 

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Somalia suffering worst famine in 20 years

 

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tens of thousands of Somalis are feared dead in the world's worst famine in a generation, the U.N. said Wednesday, and the U.S. said it will allow emergency funds to be spent in areas controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants as long as the fighters do not interfere with aid distributions.

 

Exhausted, rail-thin women are stumbling into refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia with dead babies and bleeding feet, having left weaker family members behind along the way.

 

"Somalia is facing its worst food security crisis in the last 20 years," said Mark Bowden, the U.N.'s top official in charge of humanitarian aid in Somalia. "This desperate situation requires urgent action to save lives ... it's likely that conditions will deteriorate further in six months."

 

The crisis is the worst since 1991-92, when hundreds of thousands of Somalis starved to death, Bowden said. That famine prompted intervention by an international peacekeeping force, but it eventually pulled out after two American Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in 1993.

 

Since then, Western nations have mainly sought to contain the threat of terrorism from Somalia — an anarchic nation where the weak government battles Islamic militants on land and pirates hijack ships for millions of dollars at sea.

 

Oxfam said $1 billion is needed for famine relief. On Wednesday, the U.S. announced an additional $28 million in emergency funding on top of the $431 million in assistance already given this year.

 

Most importantly, as long as the Islamists don't interfere with aid distributions, those new U.S. funds aren't restricted under rules implemented in 2009 that are designed to keep food and money from being stolen by the insurgency.

 

"If (the insurgents) are willing to allow access we are willing to stand fully with the humanitarian actors," said Dr. Raj Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

 

Aid groups have repeatedly called for the restrictions to be lifted and say the rules severely limited their operations in the past two years. U.S. humanitarian contributions in Somalia fell from $237 million in 2008 to $29 million last year.

 

"We've seen a very large shortfall over the past few years given the political restrictions attached to humanitarian funding," said Tanja Schumer of the Somalia NGO Consortium, which represents 78 aid agencies working on Somalia. "To get American money we have to vouch for all our contractors and all our local partners and that is tricky."

 

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, blamed al-Shabab for exacerbating the crisis.

 

"The reason the aid hasn't gone in sufficient quantities into south and central Somalia is because al-Shabab has prevented those capable of delivering large quantities of aid from having access — and when they have had access they've taxed them, harassed them, killed them, kidnapped them," Rice told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

 

Somalia is the most dangerous country in the world to work in, according to the U.N.'s World Food Program, which has lost 14 relief workers in the past few years. Kidnappings, killings and attacks on aid convoys occur frequently. Two years ago WFP pulled out of Islamist-controlled southern Somalia after the rebels demanded cash payments and other concessions.

 

U.S. military operations against terrorism suspects also have disrupted humanitarian operations, said Bowden. Insurgents vowed to target foreign aid workers after a U.S. missile strike killed the head of the Islamist al-Shabab militia and 24 other people in 2008. Aden Hashi Ayro was reputedly al-Qaida's commander in Somalia and linked to a string of attacks on foreign aid workers and journalists.

 

But WFP head Josette Sheeran said the agency is willing to return to southern Somalia if the insurgents guarantee safe passage and free access to aid. Two regions of Somalia — Bakool and Lower Shabelle — are suffering from famine and eight more are at risk.

 

"We are absolutely fully committed to going where the hungry are," she said.

 

The Horn of Africa is suffering a devastating drought compounded by war, neglect, poor land policies and spiraling prices. Some areas in the region have not had such a low rainfall in 60 years, aid group Oxfam said. Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have all been badly affected, and Eritrea is also believed to be suffering, although its repressive government does not release figures.

 

Yet only parts of Somalia are technically suffering from famine, defined as when two adults or four children per 10,000 people die of hunger each day and a third of children are acutely malnourished.

 

In some areas of Somalia, six people are dying a day and more than half of children are acutely malnourished, Bowden said. Prices of staple foods have increased 270 percent over the last year, compounding the misery.

 

Somalia's civil war is partly to blame, said Joakim Gundel, who heads Katuni Consult, a Nairobi-based company often asked to evaluate international aid efforts in Somalia.

 

He said aid groups found fundraising easier if they blamed natural disaster rather admitting the emergency was partly caused by a complex, 20-year civil war worsened by international apathy and incompetence.

 

"There is no clear cut answer," he said. "People are suffering and there is a need to respond. But drought is not the only cause. Conflict is a key reason and it is not being addressed properly."

 

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