Archive For The “News” Category
By Vidalia Onion Committee
Vidalia, GA — Recent sales data research by the Vidalia Onion Committee indicates that sweet onions lead the onion category with the largest dollar sales (35%) and Vidalia onions represent 62% of sweet onion sales. In addition, Vidalia onion sales grew by 12% while all other sweet onions sales grew by only 5%.
The study conducted by the Nielsen Perishables Group, on behalf of the Vidalia Onion Committee, analyzed national sales data over a two year time period (2012-13) and also reviewed retail performance. The results found that Vidalia volume growth at 8% outpaced total onions (4%) during the April 20 – August 17, 2013 season. In addition to the category sales data, the study highlighted key retail opportunities.
“This is exciting news to learn that when in season, Vidalia onions play such a key role in driving the growth of sweet onion sales nationwide,” stated Kevin Hendrix Chairman of the Vidalia Onion Committee. “Our previous consumer research reveals that 91% of consumers are familiar with Vidalia onions and they associate them with superior, sweet flavor so it’s great to match the consumers’ perceptions with the actual sales results.”
Changes in federal hours of service regulations, along with stricter rules by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are two primary reasons refrigerated produce loads have increased this year by as much as 10 percent, according to DAT Solutions, a load board network based in Beaverton, OR, as reported recently in The Packer, a weekly national trade newspaper.
Over 99 million transactions annually are made and company bases rate estimates on $24 billion of freight bills, according the DAT website.
The hours-of-service changes require drivers to stop for rest breaks more often, meaning it takes longer to reach destinations such as distribution centers, many of which were located years ago based on drive times allowed under the old regulations.
Some (truckers) have gone to a relay system where the first one drives so far, then another driver picks up the trailer and takes it on. The downside, particularly with temperature-sensitive loads like produce, is that you don’t have the continuity of one driver taking care of the load for the whole trip,” Montague said.
Higher rates also are attributed to the tightening rates emissions regulations by CARB, which apply not only to trucks picking up and delivering produce in the state, but those merely driving through California.
Montague said as of early June, many of the highest rates in the nation were for trucks going into California. The data for the week ending May 31 showed per mile rates of $2.44 in California for reefers. “At least 90% of the fleets that haul fresh produce have 10 trucks or less,” Montague said, adding that many produce haulers are individual owner-operators with only one truck. “The changes in regulations really make it hard for the smaller operators because of the costs for upgrades. The overall message is a lot of smaller truckers are having trouble.”
There have been recent E. coili outbreaks associated with leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach and researchers in Tennessee, along with scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a study published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease about the risk of E. coli O157:H7 in bagged salads. An estimated 63,000 STEC O157 infections occur every year in the United States.
A look at an outbreak of STEC O157 that was associated with bagged salads in institutional settings has been taken by researchers. The outbreak was in schools, and the case-control study was made up of controls matched by school and grade.
Seventeen patients from three states were identified. The median age of a cases was 23 years. 76 percent of the cases were female. Six people were hospitalized and two died in this particular outbreak. The illness onset dates ranged from April 29 to May 12, 2012.
The analytical epidemiology analysis identified a single significant food service exposure: lettuce provided by a school cafeteria. The bagged salad was traced back to a single facility. Growing areas were scheduled for more inspection during the upcoming growing season to see if a source of the contamination, whether runoff from animals farms, problems in harvest or shipping, or some other source could be found.
By Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Nogales, AZ — With the heart of the 2013-14 Mexican produce season coming to a close, the numbers are in, and they show that Nogales is widening its lead over South Texas.
For the season beginning in September of 2013, and through April of 2014, about 37% of the Mexican fresh fruits and vegetables that were consumed in North America crossed through Nogales. This compares to about 28% of total volume for the crossing region in South Texas, comprised of Pharr and Progresso, Texas.
The 2013 crossing report information, gathered from the USDA website, reflects that Nogales enjoyed a dramatic 17% increase over the prior season versus other ports that have remained flat or realized much smaller increases. This is due to several factors, including improvements at the new Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, which are decreasing the amount of time a truck waits in line at the border.
For instance, the revamped Mariposa Port of Entry has doubled the number of commercial crossing lanes. To add to the processing efficiency, as part of the 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill, Nogales will be receiving 120 additional Customs Officers to facilitate trade at the expanded port. The Arizona Department of Transportation has also made significant improvements on the road leading into the U.S. from the port, including widening and adding additional lanes for vehicles to access I-19.
A USDA Economic Research Service report reports higher consumption of fruit is associated with a lower body weight, but the same does not appear to be true for vegetables.
The USDA’s report, called “Healthy Vegetables Undermined by the Company They Keep,” said that processing and preparation methods plays a role in the influence of fruits and vegetables on body weight.
“Earlier ERS research found fruit consumption to be linked to healthier weight status, but for vegetable consumption there was no such link,” said report authors Joanne Guthrie and Biing-Hwan Lin. The report, issued in early May, said fruits are consumed in their natural states more than vegetables.
“Unlike naturally sweet fruit, Americans may find vegetables more palatable if prepared with added fats or oils, such as in fried potatoes or creamed spinach, or in a mixed dish like pizza,” according to the study. Americans often eat vegetables prepared in ways that add calories and sodium and remove dietary fiber.
Research in 2002 found that, on average, healthy weight children and adults ate more fruit than their overweight peers.
“Higher fruit consumption was associated with lower BMI for adult men and women and for adolescent girls and boys 10 years of age and above,” according to the study. However, total vegetable consumption had no association with body weight, the authors said. The 2002 study found that when vegetables were separated into two groups — white potatoes only, and all other vegetables — white potato intake was associated with higher BMI for both adult men and women. The study found that intake of vegetables other than potatoes was associated with lower BMI among women but not among any other age-sex groups.
Pear Bureau Northwest, the nonprofit marketing association that promotes fresh pears grown in Oregon and Washington, recently commissioned nutrition research examining fresh pear consumption and the associated nutrition and health benefits.
The research, which was led by Victor Fulgoni III, Ph.D, was presented at Experimental Biology in San Diego and revealed that when compared with non-consumers, fresh pear consumers had a better nutrition profile and overall better quality of diet (for example, more dietary fibre, vitamin C, copper, magnesium and potassium). Fresh pear consumers also had lower added sugar intake, as well as lower intake of total fat, mono-unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Furthermore, the likelihood of being obese was 35 percent lower among fresh pear consumers than among their non-consumer counterparts.
The association between fresh pear consumption with nutrient intake, dietary quality and risk of obesity was examined in adults 19 years old and older participating in the 2001-10 National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey. Energy and nutrient intakes were calculated using the USDA’s Food & Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies.
“We are pleased to see healthy pears as part of the greater scientific conversation and look forward to growing our nutrition research and communications program,” Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer of Pear Bureau Northwest, said in a press release.
100 years ago the railroads ruled when it came to long haul freight transportation. The advent of the interstate highway system in the 1950s changed all of that and led to a thriving trucking industry. Then in the 1970s there was a renewed interest in rail service, and this involved fresh produce. It was primarily refrigerated intermodal trailers and refrigerated box cars. However, as the trailers and rail cars aged, the companies invested in those ventures too often had problems coming up with the capital to replace the equipment. Additionally, in those days the rails had difficulty understanding perishable produce had to be treated differently than coal or auto parts. There also were too many produce receivers filing claims at the drop of a hat. The rails also were notorious for taking forever to pay claims.
But times have changed. Here are some of the rail related companies that have come on the scene in recent years.
****Railex LLC, Rotterdam, NY. This was perhaps the first one, and it partners with the Union Pacific Railroad, using 64-foot refrigerated railcars transporting produce from the West Coast to an upstate New York distribution center, where trucks take over. It also is establishing a presence in the Southeast.
****Rail Logistics Cold Train, Overland Park, Ks. The Cold Train used containers shipped out Washington and Oregon to the Midwest and East Coast.
****McKay TransCold, Minneapolis. It works with the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad using refrigerated boxcars out of California to Wilmington, IL citing each boxcar is equivalent to 3.5 to 4.2 truckloads of product.
****Tiger Cool Express LLC, Overland Park, Ks. According to its website it “Provides retailers an efficient, cost-effective, safe alternative to all-spot, all-the-time brokered transportation that relies on small, independent owner-operators who supply shippers through intermediaries.”
****C.R. England of Salt Lake City. While it is widely known as the nation’s largest refrigerated carrier with about 4,500 trucks, it also has had an intermodal division for about eight years and uses refrigerated containers.
Ricky Stover is director of business development – intermodal, for C.R. England. The company has 1,150 containers and plans adding 400 more this year.
“The percentage of produce we haul is small. We do a lot of frozen food, dairy, beverages, etc. That type of stuff is really our bread and butter,” he says.
Jason Spafford, McKay’s Vice President of Business Development credits the down turn in the nation’s economy resulting in people being “more open to new ideas.”
Spafford also points to increasing regulations on the trucking industry working in favor of the railroads.
“There’s the restrictions on driving hours that’s making it harder and is pushing it more towards a rail solution,” he states.
Additionally, Spafford says McKay TransCold believes they have to offer rail rates that are eight to 15 percent less than truck rates, depending upon the commodity and specific traffic lane.
“Traditionally rail has had difficulty with box car and intermodal concerns with damage claims. We’ve developed a racking system that creates a rock solid load. It can actually have less shifting than in truck load,” Spafford says.
McKay TransCold took a different approach in that it initially developed westbound rail shipments from the Midwest with commodities like eggs and ice cream. It then developed its eastbound freight, which is the opposite approach from most companies.
While a lot of attention is being paid to rail hauling fresh produce, Kenny Lund, Vice President of Allen Lund Company of LaCanada, CA states, “Owner operators move probably 95 percent of the produce cross country. Owner operators dominate cross country transportation of produce. The carriers that haul for us have 25 trucks at the most. We work with over 9,000 refrigerated carriers and they are mostly guys with 25 trucks or less.”
Continuing, Lund points out it is the rules and regulations that are hurting the owner operators. He adds there is no driver shortage, it is an owner operator shortage. The truck broker has been one of CARB’s (California Air Resources Board) biggest critics, citing such requirements on equipment such as refrigerated units for trailers cannot be over seven years old. Lund also is critical of the new diesel engines calling them a “nightmare. They shut down and you can’at fix them out in the field. You have to tow them in. They are so complicated and these regulations are going to make it worse.”
Paul Kazan, president of Target Interstate Systems Inc., Bronx, NY, is equally critical of excessive regulations on 18 wheelers.
“You don’t see it (increasing regulations) with trains, but at every turn you see it with the trucking industry. There is a very concerted affect out there by the rail industry to restrict trucks and I’m surprised there is not a more concerted effort by the trucking industry to push back against this effect. We’ve never had the power or the clout of the rail industry,” Kazan states.
At the same time, Kazan adds he is having conversations with rail entities and says, “we need a rail component.”
Target is headquartered on the Hunts Point Terminal Wholesale Market. Still, Kazan sees the rails “shying away” from wholesale terminal markets because these facilities hold on to the trailers (TOFC) too long using them as storage.
Kazan concedes, “Rails are here to stay. You have the green (environmental) technology, the carbon footprint.”
By Port Everglades
To expedite perishable cargo transport from Port Everglades, trucks from the Chiquita Ripening Center and International Warehouse Services (IWS) fumigation facility are now permitted to exit from Eller Drive between midnight and 4 a.m. in addition to regular hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (the gate is closed from 4-6 a.m. and from 10 p.m. to midnight). This exception only applies to the two facilities.
“As the leading perishable seaport in Florida, we understand the need to move perishable commodities faster so that they are fresher when they arrive to the marketplace,” said Steven Cernak, Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director. “We applaud U.S. Customs & Border Protection for recognizing this need and working with port staff and our customers to find a solution. These extended hours help speed goods to market.”
Prior to this time extension, perishables that were treated late in the day could not exit past 10 p.m. due to security gate closures. Now, security officers will open the gates past midnight for Chiquita and IWS to make deliveries.
“The perishable industry brought this problem up and the staff at Port Everglades resolved it immediately. This is just one example of their commitment to perishable cargo,” said IWS President and Chief Executive Fred Rogacki.
Port Everglades is the state leader in perishable throughput, moving nearly half of all the refrigerated containers in Florida.
At the crossroads of North-South and East-West trade, Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports, handling nearly one million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry standard measurement for container volumes) annually and serving as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located in Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Port Everglades is in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions, including a constant flow of visitors and up to 110 million residents plus seasonal visitors within a 500-mile radius. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system and the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) intermodal hub, and is closer to the Atlantic Shipping Lanes than any other Southeastern U.S. port. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion will ensure that Port Everglades can continue to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry and departure for products shipped around the world.
More information about Broward County’s Port Everglades is available on the Internet at porteverglades.net or by calling toll-free in the United States 1-800-421-0188 or emailing PortEvergladesCargo@broward.org
Vegetable consumption has been stuck at barely half the recommended amount, despite for years the government has been urging Americans to eat more vegetables for better health. However, there has been little to show for the effort.
Less than 5 percent of Americans younger than 50 are getting the recommended amount of vegetables, and only 10 to 25 percent of older adults achieve this goal, according to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a panel of experts that helps set federal nutrition policy.
Two long-running Harvard studies reveal people who ate at least five servings of produce a day had about 30 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who ate less than one and a half servings. Federal trials have also found significant reductions in blood pressure and LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol. And some vegetables may help to protect against cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach and cervix, according to a science review by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Now it appears private industry is working to accomplish what the government has been unable to do.
Making Vegetables Cute — This is the food industry’s effort to make vegetables more attractive and less threatening, which started with baby carrots and moved on to baby greens.
Convenient —Vegetable growers are making their produce easier to cook with by doing the prep work themselves: washing, trimming and combining varieties in the same package.
Compelling — Wegmans, a family-owned grocer in the Mid-Atlantic region, is pioneering other enticements to draw shoppers to its sprawling produce sections. Its 84 stores have farmer meet-and-greets, cooking demonstrations and counters where workers prepare fresh vegetable mixes for stir-fries and other produce-heavy meals that can be made at home.
BOISE, Idaho – The head-turning, jaw-dropping Great Big Idaho® Potato Truck is back on the road for its third consecutive cross-country tour with a new message for women: Take care of your heart! The five-month long, 2014 Big Idaho® Potato Truck Tour kicked off in Boise, Idaho with waves, cheers, and hugs from the students of Riverside Elementary School and salutes from soldiers at the Air Force Base in Mountain Home.
In 2011, fresh Idaho® potatoes were certified by the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Food Certification Program by meeting the program’s nutrition requirements and they now bear the highly recognized and respected Heart-Check mark on the packaging. This recognition is profoundly helpful in reminding consumers that Idaho® potatoes can be a part of their everyday diet. Knowing that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women (mothers, sisters, daughters, friends) and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined, it’s more important than ever that women understand the role both diet and exercise play in achieving a healthy lifestyle.
“The Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) support of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement provides another new and exciting way we can remind consumers, especially women, of the nutritional benefits Idaho® potatoes offer,” said Frank Muir, President and CEO, IPC. “In addition to a new charity beneficiary, we’ve rebranded the Truck so it showcases fresh Idaho® potatoes prepared in various ways and creatively communicates the potato’s nutritional benefits.”
“The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement is grateful to the Idaho Potato Commission for supporting us in our fight against heart disease in women,” said Bernie Dennis, Chairman, American Heart Association National Board of Directors. “This is an exciting opportunity for the Idaho Potato Commission to help educate consumers on ways they can prevent heart disease through diet and exercise.”
In 2014, the truck will visit 26 states and travel close to 19,000 miles during a five-month period. The Truck and its seasoned traveling Tater Team will stop at high traffic events like the Kentucky Derby, the Art Car Parade and Festival in Houston, Texas and the 55th World Lumberjack Competition in Hayward, Wisconsin. In between events, the Truck will visit key retailers and foodservice operators, and local places of interest it finds along the way.
The Truck The Great Big Idaho® Potato weighs more than 6 tons (the equivalent of 32,346 medium-sized Idaho® potatoes). It has become a traveling ambassador for the country’s most famous potato. After being seen by hundreds of millions of Americans in person and in the IPC’s national television commercial, the most frequently asked question is, “Is it real?” We’ll never tell… but in the event it is, the Great Big Idaho® Potato:
- Would take more than 10,000 years to grow.
- Is 1,102 times heavier than the largest potato ever grown, which weighed 11 pounds.
- Would take 2 years and 9 months to bake.
The Great Big Idaho® Potato Truck was created and built by Chris Schofield and Sharolyn Spruce of Weiser, Idaho. With the help of a few specialized contractors, they spent an entire year designing and building this incredible vehicle. The Kenworth Sales Company and Western Trailer, both based in Boise, Idaho, also aided with the construction.
The Tour To find out when the Great Big Idaho Potato Truck will be in a city near you, please visit www.bigidahopotato.com. The website provides in-depth information about the Truck, the IPC’s support of the Go Red For Women movement and weekly updates with tales and photos from the road.