United States A cold and wet spring in the Pacific Northwet delayed pea planting which in turn has delayed the start of the season by about 1 or two weeks. We expect harvesting to commence in the next week or so depending on weather. In general the weather has been cool which is good for …
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Food Price Outlook 2022
The official USDA website is a wealth of information if you’re willing to take the time to navigate it. From time to time, we’ll publish pertinent information from this website that we feel could be useful to you and those in the food industry. One that is of particular interest is the Food Price Outlook, …
Food Safety
Tech Talk Episode 3 Features Artificial Intelligence In the New Era of Smarter Food Safety
The third installment of FDA’s new podcast series on technology and food safety focused on AI (artificial intelligence) and its potential to advance food safety. It was hosted by Frank Yiannis, Deputy FDA Commissioner for Food Policy and Response and Donald Prater, Associate Commissioner for Imported Food Safety. The experts were Maria Velissarou, Global Corporate …
Crop News
April Freeze Plus Snow Hurt Northwest Vegetable And Fruit Crops
United States Green pea planting is completed. Recent cold weather and snow delayed plantings and we could see some reduced crop yields due to the unusual weather conditions in April. We do not anticipate a start date on green pea harvest until the early part of June. Sweet corn plantings are underway and to date …
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Crop News
VEGETABLE AND FRUIT PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE
United States Green pea and potato planting still underway. Corn plantings are just beginning. Securing enough contracted acreage has been a struggle as growers have many other more profitable options to consider and processors are paying more to the growers this year. Most processors are planning on same volumes as last season or even a …
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War in the Ukraine Brings Higher Prices and Food Shortages Worldwide
We’re all feeling the immediate effects here in the USA of the war in Ukraine. The sanctions imposed have cause gas and oil prices to explode compounded by the inflation we are already experiencing. But there are far more serious problems ahead regarding agricultural production and food prices. There are food shortages right now worldwide, …
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Food Safety
How A Book Called “The Jungle” Brought Food Safety to America
It all began in 1906 with a book called The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair. Sinclair was a known “progressive” in those days and wrote his book, “The Jungle” to expose the appalling working conditions and plight of the immigrant workers in the meat-packing plants and stockyards in Chicago. At the age of 26, he …
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Crop News
PEA AND POTATO PLANTINGS BEGIN THIS MONTH IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
United States Green pea and potato plantings should begin this week as long as the cold and snow stay away. Corn planting should commence at the end of this month/early April. Due to logistic challenges (not being able to ship product) there are still inventories of corn available to purchase, however prices remain high with …
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Food Safety
Whole Genome Sequencing – An Advanced Technology To Stop Foodborne Illness & Improve Food Safety
Foodborne illness is a common occurrence. It is estimated that one in six Americans get sick from contaminated food or beverages annually and 3,000 die from it. The USDA estimates that foodborne illnesses cost the United States more than $15.6 billion each year and the irony is that such illnesses are preventable. The CDC (Center …
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Plant-Based Foods Just Keep Getting Better
One of the biggest continuing trends in the food arena today is plant-based foods. I’m sure you’re all familiar and may have even sampled the “Impossible Whopper” at Burger King even if just out of curiosity. Now, as more players enter this market, we’re seeing a variety of innovative foods in 2022 that will tempt …
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Crop News
China is now the largest grower of blueberries and strawberries worldwide
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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Food Safety
No More GMO Labels – It’s Bioengineered Food Now
Bioengineered Foods are those “that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) techniques and for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.” You may have seen the terms GMO (genetically modified organism) or Genetic Engineering used for marketing reasons …
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MORE OF THE SAME – More Expensive Products, More Supply Chain Problems, More on OMICRON
Are you as tired of rising prices and shortages as we are? What are you willing to pay for a container? A trucker? Unfortunately, it’s not going to end soon. Our food systems – suppliers, manufacturers, workers, and consumers continue to suffer as transport and supply issues remain unresolved and prices continue rise on almost …
Crop News
Flooded Fields Could Take A Toll On British Columbia’s 2022 Berry Crop
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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Food Safety
As Listeria Outbreaks Continue AFFI Offers Listeria Control Certification
What you need to know about Listeria Monocytogenes Foods that are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes often look perfectly good to eat. In other words, they may not be spoiled or have an “off” smell, yet those who eat such foods could be at high risk of serious infection. If you feel you have eaten any …
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Amazon’s Grab & Go Technology Takes a Global Leap
Just when we thought Jeff Bezos had taken the grocery and incidental shopping experience to a new level with his “Amazon Go” convenience and grocery stores in the U.S.A., it appears he is still on the move…and this time, globally. For those readers who are not familiar with the “grab and go “concept, these are …
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Food Safety
Increase in Online Food Ordering Prompts FDA Food Safety Review
There’s no doubt about it. Over the past five years the food delivery market has experienced significant growth. Door Dash and Uber Eats are now household names here in America. China, the U.S., and the U.K are the three largest users of food delivery and in Europe it is primarily popular in Germany, Italy, and …
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Taco Bell Going Digital & Wendy’s Using Ghost Kitchens
Taco Bell will open its first “Defy” restaurant in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in 2022. The artist rendering of this fabulous new restaurant is shown below. It looks a little like a bank with drive through windows, doesn’t it? It’s very high tech and you won’t interact with anyone, even as you receive your food. The …
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Crop News
Most Vegetables and Fruits In Short Supply
United States Early summer heat took its toll on the Green Pea crop and all processors are 20% to 50% below budget. Temperatures between 105 – 117 degrees made it difficult to keep up with the harvest and many processors had to leave their peas in the ground. Dry land pea fields suffered the most. …
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Japan Introduces SICILIAN ROUGE HIGH GABA the World’s First Genome-Edited Tomato
Japan’s Sanatech Seed has begun selling “Sicilian Rouge High GABA” tomato to consumers. This is the first genome-edited tomato to be sold on the Japanese market. The product was developed using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to edit the tomato’s genome and remove the autoinhibitory domain that prevents tomatoes from increasing their GABA content. The tomato …
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