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September 1, 2009
· Hawaii growers warned to clean up exports
· China seeks lead role in food safety standards
· GM crops to play key role in Viet Nam ag
· Food ‘tattoos’ an alternative to sticky labels
· FarmVille social game tops 11 million players
Hawaii
(Honoluluadvertiser.com)
–
Budget cuts have left
Five key agricultural officials sent a warning letter this
month to hundreds of
"Anyone that currently ships to
Those severe restrictions could include enhanced inspection requirements that will further delay the release of fragile fresh products into markets, a requirement for specific treatments for high-risk products, or bans on some shipments entirely, officials said.
The potential layoff of
And that would likely send a message to
'Bad situation'
The warning letter suggests an active plan of education, cooperation and increased safeguards to clean up these agricultural products.
"We need to pull back and make sure we do a good
job," said Eric Tanouye, who raises and ships
tropical flowers at Green Point Nurseries in
Currently, regulations allow some self-inspection of
products, which helps speed shipment. But when inspections in
One of those who signed the letter to growers is Lyle Wong, administrator of the state Department of Agriculture's plant industry division.
"There's a bad situation developing here," Wong
said. If
"You may not be able to ship to
"It's terrible," said Matsushima at Alluvion. But she remains hopeful that everyone in her industry will get the word and pull together to keep exports "clean" of insects.
Wong said
"We are considered high risk because we have fruit
flies in
He recalls a pallet of 1,800 pounds of rambutan, irradiated on the Big Island and shipped from Hilo to California, where an ant walking on the outside of the box prompted inspectors there to reject it, which cost the farmer at least $8,500 worth of fruit plus other expenses and lost revenue.
Tanouye of Green Point Nurseries is president of the Hawaii Florists and Shippers Association and said he's seen the vibrant business growing even during difficult economic times.
Tanouye said bugs have turned up in cut flowers and foliage — not in an isolated case or two, but throughout the industry, especially with flowers that have places for bugs to hide, such as bird of paradise, ginger and heliconia, as well as palms and monstera.
"Everyone is challenged with this responsibility of being pest free," Tanouye said, especially in a business with a premium on freshness.
Additional Facts
Rejected in
Preliminary data for the January-to-June 2009 period
indicate 201 shipments were rejected because of hitchhiking insects discovered
on arrival in
135 Cut flowers, foliage
31 Herbs, vegetables
25 Nursery products
10 Fruits
Source: state Department of Agriculture
China
(China View) BEIJING – China is now working on a new system of food safety standards that is expected to guarantee people's health and be more compatible with international norms, said a senior health official in Beijing.
"The Ministry of Health is now working with other government agencies to formulate a new system of food safety standards, as required by the country's new food safety law that went into effect June 1 this year," said Vice Minister of Health Chen Xiaohong at the Food and Drug Safety Responsibility Forum on Saturday.
According to Chen, the new system will integrate existing food safety standards, eliminate areas that overlap or contradict each other, and establish new standards for areas that previously lacked regulation.
"The amount of pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residue, microorganism residue, heavy metals and pollutants in food products, as well as the use of food additives are the priority areas," noted Chen. "We are also building up an expert team on food safety standards."
Chen promised transparency in the making of the new system and encouraged experts and enterprises to submit suggestions. The new system will also be subject to the opinions of international organizations and other countries, in line with a request from the WTO, he said.
In addition to the implementation of the new law, the ministry is also stepping up efforts to establish an efficient food safety coordination mechanism, improve the health emergency response system, and set up a food safety risk-monitoring and assessment system.
A database is under construction to facilitate the flow of information between different government agencies involved in food safety administration and supervision.
Speaking at the forum, Chen also urged food and drug companies to shoulder their share of responsibility in safeguarding people's health.
"Food and drug safety has a direct bearing on people's health and also sustains the sound development of the whole industry," he said. "It also reflects the credibility and social responsibility of an individual enterprise. Experiences have shown that an enterprise can generate more economic returns when putting people's health above anything else."
His opinion was echoed by another participant at the forum, Wang Maolin, the vice chairman of the Law Committee of the 10th National People's Congress.
Wang said food and drug enterprises should change their role of an economic entity to that of a social entity and take on more social responsibility.
He said that
corporate social responsibility (CSR) can measure an enterprise's business
ethics and constitutes a threshold in entering some overseas markets. According
to Wang, Chinese enterprises have to pass CSR examinations before entering
developed markets such as the EU,
In a show of support for the government's efforts to reduce repeating food scandals that batter the industry's reputation and consumer confidence, participating entrepreneurs signed their names on an initiative to produce safe food and drugs.
The Forum on Food
and Drug Safety is the summer summit of the International CEO Roundtable of
Chinese and Foreign Multinational Corporations, which is held in mid-November
every year in
GM crops to play a key role in Viet Nam ag
(VNS) HA NOI — Genetically modified crops are expected to make up to 50 per cent of the country’s total agricultural output by 2020.
Experts met last week at the National Meeting on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and Biological Safety Management on GMO to discuss issues pertaining to GMO in domestic agriculture.
"In order to develop and apply GMOs into agricultural production in a sustainable way, it is necessary to set up and implement effective biotechnology regulations and safety management mechanisms for GMOs and foods derived from recombinant DNA," said Nguyen Xuan Cuong, deputy minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).
A decree on biotechnology safety management for GMOs drafted by MoNRE will be submitted to the Government in October, according to Le Thanh Binh, deputy head of MoNRE’s Biodiversity Preservation Department.
Under this decree, individuals and organisations who want to research and develop GMO technology would have to meet all standards on staff and equipment set by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Binh said that GMOs being considered for use in food or other products would have to undergo a number of tests to assess potential risks to the environment, biodiversity or people’s health. All these tests will be regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Health (MoH).
After assessment, organisations or individuals would have to show the approval of the GMO product to MoNRE; which would then grant a certificate to certify the product is safe before it is released into the environment. For GMOs being used for food, MoH would grant a certificate that declares the product safe for human consumption.
Products which contain more than 5 per cent of GMOs will have a label stating that these products "used genetically modified technology", according to the draft decree.
Providing information about GMOs products for consumers is also regulated in this decree.
Binh said that this decree delineated clearly the responsibility of every State agency to ensure the safe usage of biotechnology for GMOs, as well as the rights and tasks of those researching and developing GMOs.
A guidance circular on biotech safety management and the research and development of GMO technology is being created by the Ministry of Science and Technology; a circular on biotech safety management for GMO crops is also being created by MARD.
Make help
Cuong said that with biotechnology, plants could be created that are disease resistant and can withstand drought and floods.
The world had witnessed achievements in modern biotechnology, which could boost the volume and hardiness of crops to help supply enough food for an increasing population, said Cuong.
"Application of genetically modifying (GM) technology is an irresistible trend when scientists can hardly forecast when it will be rainy or sunny or when drought or floods will occur," said director of the Agricultural Genetics Institute Le Huy Ham.
Coupled with the loss of agricultural land for industrialisation and urbanisation, and the fast pace of population growth, there was no other way to develop plants that would adapt to the changing climate to maintain the nation’s food security, he added.
Professor Le Tran Binh of the Biotechnology Institute said that a GMO or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources and then combine them into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes.
"Achievements are expressed through transferring into the plants the genes which help plants to be resistant against diseases and pestilent insects," said Binh.
Today, the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, as well as developing countries worldwide support the use of GM plants. However, many European countries have yet to agree with their use.
To date, up to 800 million hectares of GM plants have been grown in 25 countries, and about 55 countries allow the sale of foods derived from recombinant DNA.
Pham Van Toan, chief of MARD’s Biotechnology Department said that the total profit in the last 10 years that farmers in developing countries have earned from GMO crops is US$16.5 billion and in developed ones the number is $17.5 billion. Coupled with that, using GMO in agricultural production is estimated to have helped decrease the usage of pesticides by more than 200,000 tonnes.
However, many opponents had expressed concern about how to ensure GMO products are safe for people and the environment, said Dr Nguyen Van Khai, who is well known for his vegetable and plant protection methods.
Cuong said that this technology posed some risks to environment, biodiversity and people’s health which required the experts and relevant authorities to find the ways to minimise these effects.
Food ‘tattoos’ an alternative to sticky labels
(USDA-ARS) – Those small and sometimes inconvenient sticky labels on produce may eventually be replaced by laser “tattoo” technology now being tested by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Florida (UFL) scientists.
Called laser etching, the new technology puts a tattoo on grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket checkout lines. The technology was invented by former UFL scientist Greg Drouillard, now with Sunkist Growers. Grapefruit has always been labeled with sticky paper labels that mar the fruit and stick to one another in storage. The labels are also easily removed, making it more difficult to track a piece of produce back to the source if the need arises.
Microbiologist Jan Narciso at the
ARS Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in
A carbon dioxide laser beam was used to etch information into the first few outer cells of the fruit peel. The mark can’t be peeled off, washed off or changed, offering a way to trace the fruit back to its original source. This permanent etching into the fruit peel does not increase water loss or the entrance of food pathogens or postharvest pathogens if the laser label is covered with wax.
Further testing shows the wax may be unnecessary, since the tiny holes etched into the grapefruit peel are effectively sealed by the carbon dioxide, preventing decay and food pathogen entry. However, wax coverage is recommended to eliminate water loss. In testing for fruit decay, the fruit was inoculated with decay organisms and then etched with the laser. No pathogens were found in the peel or the fruit interior.
Narciso and Etxeberria found that the laser cauterizes the peel, much like when a laser is used on human skin. The cauterized area is impenetrable to pathogens and decay organisms and resists water loss. Testing is also being conducted on tomatoes, avocado and other citrus fruits. The process would have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it could be used commercially.
This research was reported in the scientific journal HortTechnology.
FarmVille social game tops 11 million players
(Wire Services)
FarmVille is a light, fast and fun game where players create and manage their own virtual farm. Like all Zynga games, FarmVille lets you play, invest and express by plowing, growing and harvesting a variety of crops for money and game points. Players also have options to invest in their farms by purchasing fruit trees and farm animals such as pigs and cows, and compliment their crops with other farm assets such as barns, windmills and greenhouses.
Nurturing the farm is the key to success for players and their network of fellow farmer friends -- those who tend their crops diligently will see their farms flourish and their bank accounts swell. Players' friends are a key element of success in FarmVille.
"FarmVille demonstrates the
huge market potential of social gaming -- in just 9 weeks the game has become a
cultural phenomenon," said Mark Pincus, founder
and CEO of Zynga. "No other application has achieved
what this game has in such a short amount of time. Who would have guessed that FarmVille is now the biggest online game in
"FarmVille's growth is nothing short of spectacular and a clear indicator that we have a winning formula for giving players around the world a virtual farming experience that they truly enjoy," said Mark Skaggs, VP and GM of Zynga's Social RTS studio. "By combining the best elements of social gaming, with people's instinct to nurture, we've created an incredibly fun, wholesome and rewarding experience."
Zynga is the largest social gaming
company, with 27 million daily users and 93 million monthly users. Zynga's games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Tagged, Yahoo! and the iPhone, and include
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