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Thursday, March 22, 2007 Reading the news to post the latest stories to www.agplus.net can get pretty depressing. I enjoy the news but with advances in technology and 24 hour news cycles the quality of reporting has declined. The news used to be who, what, when and where with a little extra put in on occasion. In my opinion, it has gotten ugly out there with reporters crafting their words to color stories and play up their own political views. Editorials belong on the editorial page not on the front page. I don’t know whether you agree, but I feel confident that President Bush would since he has been in the bull’s eye for several years. What do you think? Produce industry vows better tracking of veggies Hoping to restore consumer confidence and protect itself from lawsuits after repeated outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, the produce industry is getting down to basics: Keeping better track of where and how its food is grown and handled. Dole Food Co., the world's largest producer of fresh vegetables, recently started using radio-frequency identification tags to track leafy greens as they move from fields to trucks and through processing facilities. The system will allow Dole, whose bagged spinach was implicated in the September E. coli outbreak that killed three people and sickened more than 200, to trace contaminated produce not only to a particular farm, but also to a specific part of a field, says Eric Schwartz, president of Dole fresh. At the same time, Western Growers, whose members grow, pack and ship half of the nation's fresh produce, is helping develop a global-positioning system enabling growers to track their goods through the supply chain. In addition, many big produce buyers are spelling out how growers should monitor their farms for possible sources of contamination, including wild hogs and deer, flooding and polluted irrigation water - and insisting on guarantees that the directions are followed. Click link to read complete story Tom Lange Company Begins Distribution Of Dole Watermelons The Tom Lange Company, Inc. and Dole Fresh Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, Inc., have partnered to distribute watermelons. Under the agreement, The Tom Lange Company will be the licensee for DOLE Watermelons, responsible for the sourcing, marketing and distribution of melons.In a statement released by the Tom Lange Company, President and CEO, Phil Gumpert, said, “ We are excited to put our sourcing, marketing, distribution and transportation capabilities together with a powerful brand name such as DOLE and a volume commodity like watermelons.”
DOLE Watermelon is considered a “Superfood for the Heart” under Dole’s Superfoods program because of its heart healthy nutrition profile. The program, which is the most visited link on Dole’s Web site (www.dole.com), promotes “all fruits and vegetables as good for you, but certain fruits and vegetables are Superfoods because they are super-rich in nutrients, which have proven, targeted health benefits.” Click link to read complete story
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