Washington, DC — Consumers are thinking about what’s healthy for both people and the planet— with fresh fruits and vegetables top of mind. But despite the best of intentions, new research from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) reveals significant barriers to produce consumption.
“Spring is the time when people are planning gardens and planting seeds; it is also typically a time when lists of which fruits and veggies are safer for you to eat start to circulate on newsfeeds,” Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, IFIC President & CEO, said.
“Our consumer research shows Americans consider how their food was grown when making food decisions, yet at the same time, Americans have never been more removed from the farm. It is our mission to help bridge that gap with consumer insights and science communications.”
Keeping food safe (70%) and the use of pesticides (60%) are top concerns when considering how food is grown. Nutritional content, use of agricultural technology, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and farm workers welfare were other listed concerns consumers factor into their purchase decisions.C
Pesticides are commonly utilized by farmers for pest control as a tool to protect public health by ensuring safe and sufficient food production. Pesticides are regulated by several government agencies worldwide. Yet it is clear consumers remain confused regarding the methods, reasons, and situations where pesticides are used.
Many Americans (47%) believe that “organic agriculture does not use pesticides to grow food,” despite the fact that both organic and conventional produce are grown with the use of pesticides.
Nearly 60% of Americans who are concerned with pesticide use believe consuming foods grown with pesticides are bad for their health, 36% believe that pesticides used today are “more toxic than they have ever been,” and 35% believe pesticides are bad for the environment.
Of the Americans who are not concerned about pesticide use, 35% cited they rinse their fresh produce, and 29% “trust farmers to use pesticides responsibly.”
“The pesticide residue found on both conventional and organic produce has time and time again been found to be present in minute amounts. Multiple government agencies confirm that these low residue levels do not pose a health or safety risk, yet consumers are still clearly concerned,” explained Tamika Sims, PhD, IFIC Senior Director of Agriculture Technology Communications. “I would simply recommend that consumers wash their fresh produce with cold water prior to consuming, to remove any remaining residues.”B
According to the data, when a consumer is concerned about pesticide use, the majority simply avoid purchasing or consuming vegetables (71%) and fruits (59%) altogether.
“Low intake of fruits and vegetables by Americans is not a new phenomenon—it’s been chronically low for decades,” explained Reinhardt Kapsak. “This research highlights gaps in not only consumer understanding of pesticides, but also how harmful misinformation can further widen the fruit and vegetable consumption gap in the U.S. and around the world. Our aim is always to empower consumers with evidence-based, truthful information. We must reassure Americans that consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables—in all forms and from all production methods—is safe, nutritious, and important for their health and well-being.”
Research Methodology
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online research survey with consumers based in the US to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about pesticides and their application in food production. One thousand adults aged 18+ years completed the survey from February 9-13, 2024, and responses were weighted to ensure proportional results. The Bayesian confidence?level for 1,000 interviews is 3.5, which?is?roughly equivalent to a margin of error of ±3.1 at the?95%?confidence level.
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization with a mission to effectively communicate science-based information about food safety, nutrition, and sustainable food systems, serving the public good. To fulfill this mission and demonstrate its thought leadership in action, IFIC:?1) delivers best-in-class research and consumer?insights to inform food, nutrition, and health stakeholders; 2) promotes science communications to positively impact consumer behavior and?public health; and 3) convenes critical thought leaders?to advance the food systems dialogue and science-based decision-making. For more information, visit https://ific.org and our resource hub http://foodinsight.org; Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X
It is springtime in the Santa Maria Valley and a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables are being shipped.
Babe Farms of Santa Maria, CA will have a good selection of specialty root vegetables, baby head lettuces, friseé, fennel, celery root and Baby Butter Cakes lettuces.
The company reports mostly favorable weather resulting in good condition and quality on all of its products.
Beachside Produce LLC, of Nipomo, CA is known for its broccoli crowns but also grows cauliflower, celery, cello lettuce and a full line of Western vegetables as well as a variety of Asian vegetables in a partnership with Pismo-Oceano Vegetable Exchange of Oceano, CA
Above average rainfall has disrupted some of the growing season, but weather improvements is getting the season back on a more predictable track.
Corona Marketing of Santa Maria is loading strawberries as well as squash, chili peppers (starting in July) and green beans this spring. Overall volume is expected to be similar to a year ago.
Pacific Coast Produce of Santa Maria began strawberry shipments in March and will continue into the summer.
Pacific Coast Produce started its summer vegetable program, which consists of eight kinds of chili peppers and includes conventional and organic green and yellow squash, in early May and continues through November.
The company’s core products are broccoli, celery and cauliflower. Quality is excellent on all commodities, and volume will be similar to last year.
Gold Coast Packing Inc. of Santa Maria specializes in value-added items, ranging from small-format 12-ounce packs of broccoli florets to 2-pound packages of items that are more specific for retail.
Gold Coast also is developing salad kits for retailers. That program was launched last summer with Costco with a Better Than a Burger salad kit.
The company also offers broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, spinach, Brussels sprouts, cilantro and various product blends.
California’s Santa Maria growing area includes up to 50,000 acres of farmland in the Santa Maria Valley, which is made up of acreage in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and additional land outside the valley.
Commodities are led by Strawberries, followed by cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce and avocados. There has been a decrease in vegetable acres planted in recent years and an increase in strawberries,
Sleep apnea (OSA) affects nearly one billion people around the world. It is a condition known to increase the risk for cardiometabolic diseases.
Because of its association with obesity, weight management through caloric restriction is the most commonly taken course of action to mitigate the effects of OSA.
However, a new study is looking at diet quality over caloric intake in hopes of treating this condition.
Researchers Yohannes Adama Melaku, Lijun Zhao, Robert Adams, and Danny J. Eckert took cross-sectional data from 14,210 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants to determine the association of plant-based dietary indices (PDI) with OSA risk.
“Higher adherence to a healthy plant-based diet is associated with reduced OSA risk, while an unhealthy plant-based diet has a positive association,” the research stated.
Strong supplies of Southern Hemisphere citrus is expected by fresh fruit importer-exporter Salix Fruits of Philadelphia. It recently launched summer citrus program, marking the start of the lemon, mandarin and orange season in the Southern Hemisphere, according to a news release.
“This year, we anticipate a recovery in citrus volumes from nearly all origins,” Alejandro Moralejo, CEO of Salix Fruits, said in the release. “After last year’s climatic challenges, such as the El Niño phenomenon in Peru, we are prepared for a significant increase in our supply to all our destinations, including the U.S., Canada, India, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Russia.”
Salix says the season began in March-April with early mandarins, which will continue until October.
“Lemons will be available from March to September, while oranges, starting with navels and continuing with valencia types, will be available from May to October. Grapefruits will be available from May to August, and Tahiti limes will be available all year round from Colombia and Peru,” Moralejo said.
With offices in different countries, Salix Fruits says it’s able to source products from throughout the Southern Hemisphere based on its customers’ preferences.
“From Argentina, lemons are our main product for all markets,” said Moralejo. “For the U.S., we source other citrus fruits like oranges and mandarins from Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Also, South Africa is one of our main citrus origins for all the destinations.”
Ocean freight rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels and supply volumes have increased this season, the release said.
Georgia peach shipments are making a major rebound from last year’s devastating season. Loadings got underway in early May and have just moved into good volume.
Industry optimism is based on a full Winter of productive dormancy and a long, cool Spring of perfect weather. Combine these growing conditions with well-rested fruit-bearing trees in their prime and you’ve got a sweet recipe for the best summer of succulent Georgia peaches in multiple decades. These conditions are also key in providing premium sizing and vibrant color to the fruit. Georgia Peach Council growers will be picking over 50 varieties of beautifully blushed peaches across 10,000 acres of manicured orchards. Good volume should continue into mid August.
Duke Lane, president of the Georgia Peach Council, as well as Will McGehee, marketing director of the Georgia Peach Council have expressed optimism on large crop with good quality.
About Georgia Peach Council:
The Georgia Peach Council is the proud supporter of Georgia’s commercial peach farms, including Lane Southern Orchards, Pearson Farm, Dickey Farms, and Fitzgerald Fruit Farms. Today, over 50 varieties of peaches are grown statewide. Each year, Georgia produces over 130 million pounds of peaches, between mid-May and mid-August. For more information about Georgia peach background, health information, recipe ideas and more, visit https://gapeaches.org/.
Starting on February 5, 2024, thousands of drivers from 15 of the largest carrier organizations set out on strike. The goal of the organizers was to seek more patrols from Mexico’s National Guard on roads with a high incidence of theft, more stringent penalties against cargo thieves, and increased support for the families of truckers affected. They ultimately sought to secure common roads and travel for all law-abiding parties, while cracking down on illegal activity.
Another strike penned for August by truck drivers belonging to the Mexican Alliance of Carrier Organizations (Asociación Mexicana de Organizaciones de Transportistas A.C. – AMOTAC) and others was postponed through promises the federal authorities made to increase roadway security measures. This included agreements reached by AMOTAC and authorities, including Mexico’s National Guard, to hold monthly meetings with trucking officials to create enhanced safety measures to combat cargo theft.
With tech developments and the continued pressure from multiple parties to secure transit between the U.S. and Mexico, we all hope to see progress and attempts to reduce crime, keep our drivers safe, and get product from point A to point B.
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Iyer Amruthur is a national sales manager in the ALC San Antonio office and has been with the company for three years. He attended The University of Georgia where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, with a minor in Communications.
California hit a volume record for the week ending April 27th shipping over 9.8 million trays of strawberries. The last time California hit even close to that number was back in 2018 at 9.7 million trays in late May, according to Bobalu Berry Farms of Oxnard in a news release.
The week ending May 11th there were still over 9.3 million despite a little rain hitting northern districts. Bobalu expects to see peak numbers for the next several weeks as the northern districts increase their weekly volume. This is all good news for providing a great opportunity for promotions nationwide as “Strawberry Month” reigns during the month of May. June volume will be similar and the company expects see another peak in strawberries from California during this coming month.
CROP UPDATE Oxnard continues to see optimum weather keeping our fruit size and volume steady. We also benefit from our on-site processing facility keeping our fields clean and diverting lesser quality fruit to the freezer when needed. We will continue to ship from Oxnard during the month of May and focus on highest quality and maintain our three-day harvest rotation.
The fields still look great, the plants are very healthy, and the fruit has excellent flavor with these mild daytime and night time temperatures.
We have enough acreage in Oxnard allowing us to maintain our volume levels there as we wait for our Santa Maria fields to transition into peak by early to mid June. Our Santa Maria program is primarily on the westside of town so this region follows the same harvest trend as the Watsonville/Salinas region. The plants in Santa Maria are setting up to provide some excellent fruit.
Once these ranches in Santa Maria hit peak volume numbers, they will carry us well into the fall before our fall crop kicks in.
A bountiful harvest of California strawberries has arrived for California Giant Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA as the company shares news of giant volumes of its cornerstone product. The berry purveyor’s high yields and volumes of excellent quality fruit ensures peak promotable volumes of California strawberries throughout the coming months.
“Our season started off strong, with healthy plants from the beginning,” said Nick Chappell, director of sales at California Giant Berry Farms. “Despite some fruit culling due to rain early in our season, our plants have otherwise seen optimal growing conditions — which translates into the high-quality, sizeable, and flavorful fruit California Giant is known for.”
Out of the Santa Maria region, California Giant is reporting sizeable, high-quality conventional and organic fruit. The region is currently peaking and will continue to produce abundant harvests throughout the month. The Watsonville and Salinas growing region is seeing week-over-week increases in volumes, with estimates projecting substantial harvested volumes now and spanning to late-June. The region’s ranches are reporting excellent quality and flavor, alongside sizable fruit.
Nearly a 9 percent in the first two months of 2024 occurred for Mexican agricultural exports, boosting the country to a record-high agricultural trade surplus, according to Mexico News Daily, using figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER).
Agricultural and agro-industrial exports were worth $9.06 billion in January and February, an increase of 8.85 percent compared to the first two months of 2023.
Agricultural imports increased by 2.3 percent to reach $7.57 billion in the first two months of 2024.
Mexico thus recorded an agricultural trade surplus of $1.49 billion in January and February, a record for the period. The surplus increased 61 percent compared to the first two months of 2023, SADER said.
Mexican-grown tomatoes were in high demand abroad. They brought in revenue of $630 million in the first two months of the year, making the fruit Mexico’s second highest-earning agricultural export (behind beer), according to SADER.
Rounding out Mexico’s top 5 agricultural exports in January and February were tequila and mezcal ($621 million); avocados ($594 million); and fresh strawberries and raspberries ($531 million).
The majority of Mexico’s agricultural and agro-industrial exports go to the U.S., but Mexican products also reach many other countries around the world, including markets in Asia and Europe.
The agricultural products that recorded the next highest export growth were orange juice (62.4 percent); guavas, mangos and mangosteens (48.6 percent): grapes and raisins (38 percent); and cattle (35.9 percent).
As the spring season gains momentum in California’s Central Valley, Bee Sweet Citrus is highlighting star ruby grapefruit as a key variety in the company’s seasonal citrus lineup.
“Grapefruit harvest in the desert is wrapping up, and we’ve recently begun harvest in the Central Valley,” Bee Sweet Citrus Director of Harvesting and Grower Relations Randy Stucky said in a news release. “While the crop estimate is down from last season, the quality of the fruit has been excellent — with good external blush and internal color.”
Star ruby grapefruit is known for its deep red color and sweet, tangy flavor. The Fowler, Calif.-based company says that with few to no seeds, this variety is less acidic than other grapefruit varieties and complements healthy breakfast and snack recipes.
Avocado shipments from Mexico in 2024 for avocados is forecast to be up 5% over 2023, according to a new USDA report.
The Mexican avocado annual report, issued in early April, pegged the country’s avocado production in 2024 at 2.77 million metric tons, up from 23.65 million metric tons in 2023 on strong export demand.
Exports will continue to grow in 2024.
he U.S. is the top market for Mexican avocados, accounting for 81% of total export shipments. The U.S. is followed by Canada, Japan and Spain.
Mexican avocado output has grown dramatically in the last decade, fueled by global demand for avocados. The USDA said production grew nearly 75% between 2014 and 2023, reaching 2.65 million metric tons and making Mexico the No. 1 avocado producer globally.
Mexico’s avocado exports totaled 1.4 million metric tons in 2023, up 17% compared to 2022 exports of 1.2 million metric tons.
“The past five years have seen a significant increase in avocado production, especially in the Valley Region of Jalisco, as producers diversify their crop mix to include avocados, or completely eliminate corn, wheat, and pasture area in favor of avocado orchards,” the report said.
With planted area growing 46% between 2014 and 2023, the government of Mexico estimates Mexican avocado planted area (i.e. area with mature, productive trees) at nearly 636,500 acres in 2023, up 2% from 2022.
Mexico is the No. 1 avocado supplier to the U.S., the report said, accounting for 89% of U.S. avocado imports, followed by Peru (6%) and the Dominican Republic (4%).
Mexico’s 2023 avocado exports comprised 96% fresh product, 3% guacamole and 1% pulp for further processing. The December to February timeframe accounts for 33% of exports, with the Super Bowl being one of the biggest demand drivers for Mexico’s avocado exports to the U.S.
Avocados ranked fourth in value among Mexico’s agricultural exports in 2023, after beer, tequila and berries.
