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December
29, 2009
·
United releases metrics for tomato food safety
· Practical methods help keep carbon in the soil
· America’s salad bowl feels pinch of recession
· Food prices facing perfect storm – Analysis
· Food waste is enough to turn your stomach
United releases metrics for tomato food safety
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With an increased
spotlight on food safety issues, buyers and suppliers of fresh and fresh-cut
tomatoes now have a reliable set of auditing benchmarks, thanks to the combined
efforts of over 100 stakeholders from all stages of the fresh tomato supply
chain.
United Fresh released the Food Safety Programs and Auditing Protocol for the
Fresh Tomato Supply Chain, 2009, a harmonized food safety audit
protocol identifying policies and practices that the fresh tomato industry
expects its facilities to have in place to minimize the microbiological hazards
associated with fresh and fresh-cut tomato production and handling.
"This effort was a true collaboration between the tomato industry, our
customers and government,” said Ed Beckman, president of California Tomato
Farmers and participant in the development of the document. “Not only is there
agreement on standardized risk reduction protocol for the entire supply chain,
there's agreement that a single commodity-specific audit has greater merit than
multiple generic audits. The growers of California Tomato Farmers were
pleased to successfully pilot the program and look forward to working with our
customers on full implementation in 2010."
Growing out of United’s 2008 second edition of the Commodity Specific
Guidelines for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain, the 2009 document includes
four sets of tomato food safety protocols: Open Field Production, Harvest and
Field Packing; Greenhouse; Packinghouse; and Repacking and Distribution. Each
set contains auditable requirements, or “items,” that the protocol developers
concluded should be attainable and in place for any North American fresh tomato
operation, regardless of region, size, growing practice or sub-commodity
handled. Additionally, each protocol is accompanied by a checklist which
provides an audit format that auditors can use to assess and record compliance.
“This document will be a valuable asset for the fresh and fresh-cut tomato
industry in terms of reducing confusion and conflicting expectations,” said Dr.
David Gombas, United Fresh senior vice president of
food safety and technology and corresponding editor of the document. “We found
that multiple stakeholders in the tomato industry were unsure of what constituted
‘compliance’. By bringing together a critical mass from the
The document has already been met with favorable reviews from stakeholders
within the tomato industry, including Reggie Brown, executive vice president of
the Florida Tomato Exchange.
"The
The next step, which has already begun, is a training course for government and
private sectors auditors in how to perform audits according to the harmonized
tomato food safety protocol.
To review or download Food Safety Programs and Auditing Protocol for the
Fresh Tomato Supply Chain, 2009, please click here, and for more on United Fresh efforts in the field of
food safety, visit www.unitedfresh.org.
Practical methods for keeping carbon in the soil
(USDA-ARS) – Curbing greenhouse gas emissions from cultivated fields may require going beyond cutting back on nitrogen fertilizer and changing crop rotation cycles, according to research by Agricultural Research Service scientists.
Jane Johnson, a soil scientist at the ARS North Central Soil
Conservation Research Laboratory in
In a comprehensive study, she raised corn, soybean, wheat
and alfalfa in rotation so that each crop grew in the same year, on plots treated
with and without fertilizer. She also used a less-aggressive tillage system
known as strip tillage, in which only narrow bands of soil are tilled instead
of an entire field. For comparison, she replicated the cropping system adopted
by many
She used a hydraulic soil probe to measure the organic carbon sequestered in the soil, and closed-vented chambers to measure emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. She found that when measured over the course of a year, greenhouse gas releases were largely the same under two-year and four-year rotation systems, and that applying nitrogen fertilizer had less overall impact than anticipated on nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions peaked during spring thaws when the sun warmed the soil, regardless of which tillage or rotation system was used.
Chisel and moldboard plowing increased carbon dioxide emissions for a short time. But measured over the course of a year, carbon dioxide emissions were no different from plots with intensive tillage than plots without it. She also found no consistent patterns to methane releases.
Johnson's work is part of a five-year ARS project known as GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) in which researchers at more than 32 sites are examining strategies to help reduce agriculture's climate change footprint. The project supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.
America
(TheCalifornian.com)
"People are still waiting to see whether
the economy will pick up," said Bob Perkins, executive director of the
Monterey County Farm Bureau. "They're waiting to get paid for something so
they can pay their suppliers. The concern everywhere is if somebody goes under,
there's a domino effect through the supply system."
"Ag is always under economic
pressure," said Joe Pezzini, chief operating
officer of Ocean Mist Farms. "There's a squeeze on margins and the ability
to sustain a profit. There are businesses you've seen go by the wayside; times
are tough and there may be others."
In May, Monterey-based SK Foods filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The next day, sister company Salyer
American Fresh Foods came under the control of a receiver as banks claimed $34
million in loans were in default. Forty full-time and hundreds of seasonal
employees lost their jobs.
The recession was hardly the only factor in
their collapse. SK Foods was the target of federal investigations. Eight
employees and associates entered guilty pleas in government cases alleging
price-fixing, bribery or misbranding.
SK Foods wasn't the only ag
company taking a financial hit or downsizing.Chiquita
Brands International, which owns Fresh Express in
In March, the Dole Fresh Vegetables plant in
Gonzales laid off 186 seasonal asparagus workers. River Ranch Fresh Foods
announced a "permanent cessation" of harvest operations at its
As consumers hunted for ever-lower food
prices, big stores such as Costco, Safeway, Walmart
and Kroger tried to use their purchasing power to meet that demand. A few
grocery chains now control more than 80 percent of the market, said Lorri Koster, chairwoman of the
Grower-Shipper Association and co-chairwoman of the Mann Packing board.
In the cut-lettuce or bagged salad sections,
instead of a local label — such as Fresh Express — your eye was just as likely
to be drawn to a retailer's brand.
"That narrows our margins," Koster said.
In ag, the greatest
profits are in "value-added" products and services. Grape growers
here ship most of their product out of the county for winemaking elsewhere.
Whether it's wine or bagged salads, growers want to keep that wealth in
The expense of farming here, where land and
living costs are high, makes value-added all the more desirable; but in a
vicious circle, that expense tends to drive the activity out of the area.
"We have to maintain and lower the costs
of doing business here," Koster said.
Williamson Act
As 2009 went on, though, costs actually grew
for some as the Williamson Act became a casualty of the state's budget crisis.
The act provides property tax discounts to
owners promising to keep their land in agriculture. The state historically
reimbursed counties for the lost tax revenue.
But
"There were signs it was coming back in
January, but we're told it's not," Perkins said. "That's very
disturbing to rural counties like
Cattle ranchers would be the hardest hit.
"You just can't make enough on range
cattle to pay the taxes," Perkins said. "Ranchers are indicating they
might have to sell off some land. We could see huge changes in the landscape of
Regulation, food safety
Growers found themselves in an uncertain
regulatory environment in 2009, and change remains in the air.
"If health-care [legislation] gets
stalled or resolved, Congress will move on to food safety next," Pezzini said. "There's been a lot of criticism of the
FDA for their inability to safeguard the food supply and that's propelling this
issue forward.
"It's a question of deciding which
authorities — USDA, FDA, others — will have jurisdiction, and how far-reaching
those regulations will be. The House has already passed a version; it's still
in committee in the Senate. Obama has recognized it as an important
issue."
In September, the USDA held a hearing in
Water
With the ag water
discharge waiver that's been in place for five years expiring, growers must
present their proposal for run-off monitoring to the Central Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board in the spring of 2010. Growers would like something
akin to current requirements, under which they need only demonstrate progress
in the reduction of fertilizers, minerals and sediments in run-off.
"Water board staff has wanted to turn it
into more of a regulatory big-hammer program and set numerical targets to be
reached," Perkins said.
Statewide, there is a growing focus on water
conservation, especially in the
"It's all a sign of this state in which
we have more people than we have resources for," Pezzini
said. "There's greater scrutiny on what's in the water as it leaves the
farm. Conservation practices are going to become more important."
The board, Pezzini
said, is under greater pressures now because of the shortages in the
Recalls
Dec. 10: OrganicGirl Produce voluntarily recalls
120 cartons of packaged Berries & Balsamic salads because they may contain
an incorrect condiment package with an unlabeled allergen for walnuts.
Sept. 17: Ippolito International voluntarily
recalls 1,715 cartons of spinach as a precaution against salmonella.
Aug. 27: Steinbeck Country Produce voluntarily recalls 3,360 cartons of
iceless green onions as a precaution against salmonella.
Aug. 12: NewStar Fresh Foods voluntarily recalls
772 cartons of iced jumbo green onions as a precaution against salmonella.
July 29: Camacho's Food Processing recalls 1,450 pounds of fried pork skins
after they were distributed without federal inspection.
July 21: Tanimura & Antle
voluntarily recalls 22,000 cartons of wrapped and bulk romaine lettuce heads as
a precaution against salmonella.
No illnesses were reported. Salmonella, for
example, presented itself in random FDA test samples rather than in clinics or
hospital beds. Growers said the rising recalls were actually a good sign,
showing increased scrutiny of food safety. They also said it was possible that
the samples tested became contaminated after leaving the
Crop report
The Monterey County Crop Report that came out
in May — and covered the prior year — showed the gross value of crops here rose
to $3.82 billion in 2008, one-tenth of a percent higher than 2007.
That income hadn't fallen in a recession year
was reason for some to cheer — but it was a muted cheer, as the expense side
was much less favorable.
The 10 top-selling crops in 2008 ranked in
the same order as the year before. They were led by leaf lettuce at $651.5
million, up 6 percent, and strawberries at $619.2 million, up 2 percent. Head
lettuce held the No. 3 spot despite dropping $48 million. Head lettuce totaled
$460.6 million.
Grapes were No. 6 at $238.3 million. Spinach
continued its comeback from the 2006 E. coli outbreak and held onto the No. 8
slot at $131 million.
Artichokes lost ground. The No. 14 crop was
down 10 percent in value, almost $8 million, to $66.6 million. Artichoke
acreage was down 17 percent. "That's a commodity that's struggling," Pezzini said.
Synergene acquisition
In November, Switzerland-based Syngenta AG
bought Salinas-based lettuce seed producer Synergene
Seed & Technology. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. The Swiss firm also
acquired Santa Maria-based Pybas Vegetable Seed as it
sought a foothold in the North American market.
The two
Food prices facing perfect storm – Analysis
(foodnavigator.com) – There’s a perfect storm building for food prices. You don’t have to scan the horizon to see the signs; the clouds are developing all around us - at a faster rate than anyone expected.
It’s a lethal cloudscape of high energy prices and climate change that threatens to send prices soaring – but this may not be a bad thing: Provided the world’s poorest are insulated from its effects.
Today’s historically low food prices will end soon with significant and, for some, catastrophically high, rises in the years ahead. That means food policy-makers and food companies should plan now how best to mitigate the effects of this building storm.
It’s a readjustment many companies and government bodies at various junctures in the food supply are welcoming – if its resonances can be contained within the developed world. With the hyper competition that typifies many western retail markets driving food prices to historic lows, a reality check spurred by an energy crisis and environmental concerns is no bad thing.
The food industry must remain profitable or the innovation required to feed ever-more mouths (nearly 10 billion by 2150) won’t be forthcoming.
Increased energy
Search at the storm’s heart and you will find high energy
prices. Last week the price of crude oil reached $80 a barrel following US
statistics revealing a sharp fall in
News like that can only sharpen the
And acres devoted to fuel crops are, by definition, not being tilled for food.
Earlier this year the United States Department of Agriculture published an outlook suggesting that for the period 2007-08, global consumption of wheat exceeded production by 14.7m tons, leaving global wheat stocks at their lowest in 30 years.
In
In
Dr Sushil Pandi of the International Rice Research Institute has warned: “Shortfalls in production and subsequent price rises are being exacerbated by increasing competition for land, labour and water for biofuel production.”
It’s not just competition for land, high energy prices are having a powerful impact on the costs of food transport. Increasingly Western distribution systems depend on transporting food vast distances from producer to consumers.
In some cases, food is shipped around the world simply for processing, to take advantage of low labour costs, and then shipped back again for consumption. These practices appear increasingly unsustainable.
Climate change
Meanwhile, there is the greatest threat of all – climate
change. Its precise impact is impossible to predict. But William Cline, senior
fellow at the Institute for International Economics and the Center for Global
Development in
Time is running out for policy-makers and food companies to plan a response to these threats. A good starting point is UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon’s call for a “single global vision” to address the problems of world hunger. In a chilling warning he said there can be “no food security without climate security.”
As part of that process food companies can and should reduce their energy consumption to sustainable levels. This applies both to the production of food and to its distribution.
It may be innovation in this area that offers the greatest hope for food production to maintain a price befitting to its true costs – and to the benefit of individuals and the planet they inhabit.
The perfect storm for food prices may be impossible to avoid. But it could be a good thing if it makes Western nations value food more appropriately.
Mike Stones has written on food and farming topics for 20 years.
He lives in Southern France and co-owns a small family arable farm in northern
Food waste is enough to turn your stomach
(Deutsche
Welle) – The amount of food thrown away and
buried in landfills around Europe and the
Christmas has become a traditional time for over indulgence in Western countries. The holiday season seems to provide everyone with an excuse to eat and drink to excess. Supermarkets burst with sweet treats and a mind-boggling selection of festive fare.
While most of it will be ingested, more than a third of food
in Europe and the
Huge food waste problem developing in
In the United Kingdom, one of Europe's worst food waste offenders, around 6.7 million tons of purchased and edible food, worth £10.2 billion (11.2 billion euros, $16.6 billion), are annually discarded. Around 4.1 million tons of this wasted food comes directly from food manufacturers.
"Only 30 to 40 percent of produced in Europe ends up at
your table," Henrik Harjula,
the principal administrator at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) in
Add Europe's waste to that of the
Supermarkets sweeps food to trash
"People tend to go to these supermarkets once or twice
a month but how can you accurately evaluate how much you a going to
consume?" he asked. "They can't tell so they buy extra. Of course,
this suggests that consumers are to blame too but there is this trend across
The statistics relating to food waste sit uncomfortably with the continued reports of global food shortages and food price spikes. While there are other factors sharing the blame for a global food shortage, including the high cost of oil, a growing population, poor harvests and diverting grains to use for bio-fuels, food waste contributes to the problem.
"A lot of the food and agriculture in
Food waste causing an environmental stink
In addition to its effect on food supply in the developing world, landfills full of food are also detrimental to the environment.
"Here in Europe we consume so much globalized food,
like kiwis from
But it's the methane created by rotting food that is having the worst effect on the climate, he added. A greenhouse gas estimated to be 20 times worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is emitted from landfills as food rots.
"There are ways of collecting this gas from the decomposing food and using it for energy purposes but it is not a widespread practice at the moment," Harjula said. "What must be done in the meantime is to find away of taking the organic material out of landfill refuse."
Until there are more efficient means of harnessing methane, it's important to keep food out of landfills, according to Tom MacMillan, executive director of the British Food Ethics Council.
"Food waste is harmful and unfair, and it is essential to stop food going into landfill," he told Deutsche Welle. "Now is the moment all parties should be searching out ways to define prosperity that get away from runaway consumption. Until they succeed, chucking out less food won't make our lifestyles more sustainable."
Slow progress taken towards solution
European countries are already taking steps to reduce the production of methane from food waste deposited in landfill sites, Harjula said. The enforcement of the EU's landfill directive is expected to reduce the amount of organic material in landfill sites to 35 percent by 2016, but a number of European nations, including Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, have already reduced their levels to 5 percent and in some cases even less.
Experts believe that much of the responsibility for reducing food waste rests with the manufacturers. The food industry must find ways to reduce waste throughout the production and supply chain, and find ways to redistribute finished food products and reuse by-products of the production process.
Consumers of course can also do their bit. By planning before shopping for food, consumers can reduce their food waste output at point-of-purchase and in their homes, while adhering to efficient food storage ideas can the amount of food which becomes inedible quickly and then thrown away.
End Transmission