Continue reading »]]> ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

A Milestone in Successful Wine Grape Field Trials
as Conducted by the Dawson Company.

AgroThermal Systems 2012 Wine Grape Field Trials,
Enhancement of Wine Quality.

The Dawson Company consults for cutting edge technology providers in the area of strategic marketing, sales direction, and demonstration/efficacy field trials. AgroThermal Systems, The Dawson Company’s client, has a very interesting technology. Their ‘thermal treatment’ technology deeply impacts plant physiological processes leading to, among other things, enhanced wine grape quality.

The results of AgroThermal’s 2012 varietal wine grape field trials, assisted and conducted by The Dawson Company, were measured not only by the horticultural factors of plant yield and grape berry quality, but also by the impact on quality attributes from wine made from the same replicated trials.

Malbec variety grapes were selected for this trial due to the growing worldwide commercial interest in this particular variety. The treatments were made during the 2012 growing season and three key wine quality attributes were judged as the result of “thermal treatment” in Napa Valley, CA grown Malbec variety grapes.

The three key wine quality attributes measured were:
Enhanced flavor: “fruity” taste;
Enhanced aroma: “fruity” aroma;
Enhanced satisfaction: improved “mouth feel”.

The Malbec grapes received weekly thermal treatments by AgroThermal System’s heated air blast. After harvest, grape samples were subjected to micro vinification. Thermally treated and non-treated (control) grapes were converted into samples of wine at Fresno State University’s Department of Viticulture and Enology.

Early this year, AgroThermal System’s experts initiated “blind” wine tastings comparing wine produced from the grapes of the thermally treated vines to wines from the control or non-treated vines. To date, nine individual professional entities representing commercial organizations within the USA wine industry have participated in these taste tests. Each of these “tasters” noted that some wine samples have distinctly superior qualities which can be characterized as: more “fruity” taste, more “fruity” aroma, and an improved “mouth feel”. In every case the superior samples were the wine produced from the thermally treated grapes.

Additionally, beyond the thermal treatment’s enhancement of the key quality aspects of wine in this 2012 trial, several years of thermal treatment experience in New Zealand, Chile and Brazil have demonstrated exceptional savings in pest control costs. The added benefit of cost savings can be attributed to the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) related impacts from the periodic thermal treatment of hot/high velocity air as it disrupts the biosphere within the vineyard.

CONGRATULATIONS to the AgroThermal Systems Team for achieving such a MILESTONE!

More on the impact of ‘thermal treatment’ on plant yield, berry quality, berry numbers and input savings due to biosphere disruption, in the next editions of The Dawson Company Newsletter.

All the best,
Art Dawson, PH.D.

909 597 6077

http://www.thedawsonco.com/

_________________________________________________________________________________

Produce Quality & Food Safety
So Why is Heat Such a Big Deal?

Every organism has its own heat range for optimum growth. Wine grapes can be particularly picky, depending upon the variety. A premium bottle of wine can command a premium price – like a 1947 bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc Vinfolio San Francisco that sold for over $33,000 in 2006.

Many grape growing areas, including California, are divided into certain regions depending upon their climates. This classification technique was devised in 1944 at the University of California, Davis, by A. J. Winkler and M. Amerine. The technique is called the Winkler Scale, and is based upon the sum of degree days over 10°C during the period of April 1 through October 31. The calculations result in five designated growing regions, appropriately termed I, II, III, IV and V.

Regions I (1,111-1,390 growing-degree days) and II (1,391-1,670 gdd) produce dry table wines with light to medium body. Region III (1,671-1,950 gdd) yields sweet and full-bodied dry wines. Region IV (1,951-2,220 gdd) produces grapes used in fortified wines which are those with added distilled spirits. Lastly, Region V is best for table grapes and it yields low quality table wine.

Wines from Region I include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Region II produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Syrah, Zinfandel and Semillon come from Region III. Regions IV and V examples are Port, Barbera and Muscat. The above are general varieties produced and considerable overlap can occur.

From the preceding, one can readily ascertain that heat is an extremely important factor, and adjusting the micro-climate surrounding the grapes can aid in producing more consistent grape yields and quality. Coupling the knowledge of heat production to the knowledge of grape heat demand could also result in increased production of various grape varieties.

Turn on the heat machines!

Until Next Time,
Allan

Hartono and Company LLC
Produce Quality & Food Safety
808-345-3413

________________________________________________________________________________

About The Dawson Company

The Dawson Company consists of experienced, hands-on market and product development professionals. We create sales! Our clients include Agrichemical Registrants, Distributors and Technology Suppliers with “Need to Know” and “Need to Sell” priorities in pre-harvest and post-harvest markets.

909 597 6077

http://www.thedawsonco.com/

Continue reading »]]> ART’S PERSPECTIVE:
Food for Concern: Food Waste In Spite of Magnificent Technologies…..

Two hundred twenty two (222) million tons/year! That is the total consumer food waste in industrialized countries.* More than forty percent (40%) of food losses in industrialized countries occur as “food waste”. * “Food waste” is that portion of the total food loss that occurs in the areas of food service, food retailing and household waste.

Conversely, the balance of the food loss in industrialized countries occurs on the farm, in the packing house, in the fruit ripening rooms, the coolers, the transportation system.
For many years, our clients have focused on reducing food losses at each of these points within the produce production system. Several clients focus specifically on maximizing food production. Each client brings its own magnificent technology and makes a positive contribution to our abundant food supply.

Packing houses have been the focus of our former client, BASF, in creating protective fruit coatings; Aqua-Tech in providing ozone sanitation for fresh produce; AgroFresh in controlling natural fruit ripening at the packing house; Makhteshim Agan in providing postharvest decay control materials and Aqua-Tech, again, in sanitizing fruit in coolers and truck vans. All of these technologies are effective in reducing food losses.

Ag Water Chemical; AgroThermal Systems; KeyPlex and Westbridge Ag Products are directly involved in optimally irrigating and fertilizing fresh fruits and vegetables on the farm.

Today our client, It’s Fresh!, is extending produce freshness technology into the retail store and into the kitchens of fresh produce consumers. It’s Fresh! is the highly innovative and cost effective technology directly focused on extending produce life in store and at home.

We are pleased with each of our client’s success in making direct contributions to abundance. They are enhancing supplies of fresh produce all around the world.
But we are shocked at the gross quantity and huge cost of food wasted. Most of the waste happens after the produce has been or could have been protected by these magnificent technologies!

Food waste in the USA is in the neighborhood of $165 billion each year! ** USA families discard between $1,365 and $2,275 of fresh food each year. **

All of these magnificent technologies, and the consumer still discards 40% of his food?

Perhaps this is the “next real frontier”…….training our people to effectively utilize our abundant food supply.

*Global Food Losses and Food Waste, Extent, causes and Prevention: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2011
**WONKBLOG, How the U.S. manages to waste $165 billion in food each year, Aug 22, 2012.

All the best,
Art Dawson, PH.D.

www.thedawsonco.com

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Produce Quality & Food SafetyFood Waste?…..
Not Just Wasted Food

Take a moment to read the below excerpt from a report by the National Resources Defense Council (Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill, August 2012). You may or may not agree with their views, but the information provided is food for thought (pun intended).

“Food is simply too good to waste. Even the most sustainably farmed food does us no good if the food is never eaten. Getting food to our tables eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of freshwater consumed in the United States. Yet, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten. That is more than 20 pounds of food per person every month. Not only does this mean that Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, but also 25 percent of all freshwater and huge amounts of unnecessary chemicals, energy, and land. Moreover, almost all of that uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills where organic matter accounts for 16 percent of U.S. methane emissions. Nutrition is also lost in the mix-food saved by reducing losses by just 15 percent could feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables. Given all the resources demanded for food production, it is critical to make sure that the least
amount possible is needlessly squandered on its journey to our plates.”

You may have seen the news story on ABC News on January 28, 2013: “Americans Throw Out $190 Worth of Food Each Month” (an average). The family surveyed on the broadcast threw out about $350 worth of food in a month. Astounding!

Regardless of the figures, we waste a lot of useable food. Are we too picky? Too spoiled? Or both?

Until Next Time,
Allan

Hartono and Company LLC
Produce Quality & Food Safety
808-345-3413

Continue reading »]]> Food Consumption vs. Food Waste in the USA:
Thought Provoking Statistics…..

The average person in the USA eats about 4.7 pounds of food per day! At the same time, USA consumers waste between 9 and 11 ounces of food per day. This means that the per capita food consumption is about 1716 pounds per year and the per capita waste is about 228 pounds or 13%.

It is also reported that the statistics for food consumption and food waste are about the same for European consumers.

Our source ( cited below*), makes the distinction between food waste, defined as food loss occurring at the end of the retail chain (retail and final consumption), and those food losses which result in a decrease in amount of edible products intended for human consumption. Food losses take place at production, postharvest and processing. Food waste occurs at both the retail and consumer level.

Numerous additional scholarly references can be cited to argue that these losses are significantly higher than the estimates we have related. Nevertheless, the point remains: quite a bit of food is lost from “field to fork”. These are significant losses. They occur in the food production/delivery chain and they occur at the retail/consumer level.

The Dawson Company’s clients provide food preservation technology for each level of the food production/delivery chain. Our clients also provide food preservation technology at the retail consumer level.

Our client, Aqua-Tech, reduces postharvest produce losses through ozone driven sanitation. Aqua-Tech’s ozone sanitation technology directly increases the amount of fresh produce delivered to market.

Our client, It’sFresh!, extends the quality of fruit on the shelf at retail including berries, stone fruit, tomatoes and avocados, to name a few. Reducing waste through the control of the natural ripening agent, ethylene, It’sFresh! extends quality in-store and at home where quality typically breaks down quickly. Thus, the consumer enjoys a positive shopping experience and enjoys the wonderful fruit in-home.

*Global Food Losses and Food Waste, Extent, causes and Prevention: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2011

All the best,
Art Dawson, PH.D.
The Dawson Company

Produce Quality & Food Safety
And Speaking of Consumers…..

The responsibility to maintain food quality extends to the consumer. Producers and packers can work tirelessly to enhance food quality, but if the consumer doesn’t participate, the quality may be lost. And guess who gets the blame!

Some producers and packers utilize “sell by” and/or “use by” dates, but most don’t apply such to fresh fruits and vegetables. Nor do producers and packers provide information regarding the proper in-home storage procedures for their commodities. And they shouldn’t have to do so.

Consumers should educate themselves regarding the foods they consume. The “use by” dates seem to be taken as the final word by consumers, with all sorts of foods unceremoniously dumped in the garbage just because the magic date has arrived. On the other hand, complaints are filed because the food is spoiled even though the magic date hasn’t arrived. Consumers need to realize that these dates are best guesses and not cast in stone. And if it’s a sealed package and it is opened, then all bets are off. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I don’t see the need for these dates. Consumers need to accept a little responsibility for their own life! Okay, that’s enough philosophy for now.

Below are some recommendations that can be easily found by consumers, and maybe even passed on to consumers by the producers/packers.

• Clean your reusable food transport bags.
• Wash your hands before preparing foods, and between different types of foods.
• Store fruits separate from vegetables.
• Keep fruits and vegetables separated from ready-to-eat foods.
• Store raw meats and eggs below fruits, vegetables and ready-to-eat foods.
• Don’t use a hanging kitchen towel.
• Don’t use the same cutting board for fruits and vegetables that is used for raw meats.
• Don’t store fruits and vegetables in sealed plastic bags.
• Don’t wash fruits and vegetables before placing in the refrigerator – moisture encourages spoilage.
• Clean your refrigerator.
• Don’t leave items in the refrigerator until they look like a science experiment and then wonder why the commodity next to it spoiled.
• Then clean your refrigerator again.
• Keep the refrigerator temperature between 37 – 40 degrees F.
• Get a refrigerator thermometer.
• There are different refrigerator storage durations for different fruits and vegetables. Go to the internet and easily find them. Takes about five minutes.

Sources:
Salt Lake Valley Health Department
Clemson University Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University
Colorado State University

Until Next Time,

Allan

Hartono and Company LLC
Produce Quality & Food Safety

Continue reading »]]> International Agriculture:

The Dawson Company continues its mission – Introduction of Technologies…….. throughout the world.

Our favorite Ozone Sanitation Company, Aqua-Tech, Inc.,has been breaking ground in New Brunswick, Canada.  Atlantic Potato Distributors, Canada’s leading and most innovative fresh potato packer, selected purchased and adopted Aqua-Tech’s “tried and true” ozone sanitation system.

Atlantic Potato Distributors  known as the “RECOGNIZED LEADERS IN FOOD QUALITY & SAFETY”, is located in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick , Canada near the U S, Maine, international border.

All of Aqua-Tech’s ozone systems are designed and manufactured by Advanced O3 Systems of Sacramento, California, President, Paul Vervalle.

Aqua-Tech’s ozone sanitation systems for fresh potatoes are distributed by Exeter Engineering, Exeter, CA.  Exeter Engineering is the worldwide leader in technology designed for fresh potato packing facilities; specializing in design, manufacture and installations of fresh potato electronic sorters, graders, sizers, washers/sanitation and materials handling equipment.

Exeter Engineering invents, sources, manufactures all cutting edge equipment and computer technologies utilized in fresh potato packing. Aqua-Tech is privileged to enjoy a strategic relationship with Exeter Engineering.

What is the role of The Dawson Company, you ask?  “The magic of putting the players together.”  The combination of Aqua-Tech and Exeter Engineering has been magical over the years.  A number of U S domestic fresh potato packers have benefitted from this relationship

The Dawson Company and its key people have played key roles in technological adaptations and innovation over the past years.  The following list contains a few examples: .

International Countries Served

Sales, Marketing, Regulatory
and Quality Control

Australia:

• Apple Storage Products, Diphenylamine (DPA)
• Fresh Apple Coatings
• Fresh Citrus Coatings: Coatings Suitable for Export to the United States

Canada:

• Apple Storage Products, Diphenylamine (DPA)
• Potato storage, potato sprout inhibitor, CIPC
• Fresh Potato Sanitation: ozone systems for potato washers

Chile:

• Apple Storage Products, Diphenylamine DPA)
• Fresh Apple Coatings for Apple Exports to the United States

France:

• Apple Storage Products, Diphenylamine(DPA)
• Pear Storage Products
• Citrus coatings and Citrus Fungicides

Holland:

• Citrus Quality Control and Citrus Quality Assurance for Imported Fresh Citrus

Indonesia:

• Apple Packing Equipment Installation
• Apple Coating Products
• Tropical Fruits: Coating and Preservation

Italy:

• Apple Storage Products (Diphenylamine)
• Apple Coatings
• Citrus Coatings
• Citrus Sanitation and Preservative Fungicides

Japan:

• Pesticide Regulations: Harmonization with U S Citrus Exporters
• MRL and Pesticide Residue Issues
• Citrus Export Quality Control

Mexico:

• Tomato Ripening Technologies
• Tomato Coating Technologies
• Citrus Coatings
• Citrus Sanitation and Preservative Fungicides
• Apple Coatings

New Zealand:

• Apple Storage Products
• Pear Storage Products
• Apple Coatings for Export of Apples to the United States
• Pear Coatings

Spain:

• Apple Storage Products (Diphenylamine)
• Pear Storage Products
• Citrus Coatings
• Citrus Preservative Fungicides
• Citrus Sanitation

Thailand:

• Citrus Coatings
• Citrus Preservative Fungicides
• Citrus Storage Technology
• Tropical Fruit Coatings
• Tropical Fruit Storage Technology

- All the best,

Continue reading »]]> ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

Virus Kills Bacteria! What a concept!

We are looking for a few good
California PCAs to inform about AgriPhage for tomatoes.

AgriPhage, a bacteriophage pesticide product, is specifically effective against bacterial spot and bacterial speck of tomato. These organisms are
Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato.

AgriPhage gained California pesticide registration in 2011 and is now entering into its full tomato growing season in 2012.

AgriPhage is a cutting edge agricultural bio pesticide.

If you are a California Pest Control Advisor please email us ASAP at:
art@thedawsonco.com. We will connect you to AgriPhage’s key experts.

You will be provided with examples, historical information (six years use in
Florida and Eastern Seaboard states), and will assist you in determining if
this product is right for your growers.

This is a highly specific, highly technical, residue free pesticide.

ApriPhage is manufactured and registered by OmnLytics, Inc.,
“The Phage Company”.

The Dawson Company has become associated with OmnLytics, Inc. for the
purpose of sales development in California’s tomato industry. We are pleased
to help all California’s PCAs and CAPCA members with this product.

www.thedawsonco.com

All the best,
Art Dawson, PH.D.

Food Safety from Allan

Phages …. Something New?

Nope. It is estimated that phages (bacteriophages) have been around for
about 4 billion years. Scientists didn’t learn about phages until the early
1900′s. Frederick Twort of the Brown Institution in London, and Felix
d’Herelle of the Pasteur Institute in Paris independently discovered phages.

Initially, phages were engaged to treat human diseases such as dysentery.
However, the use of phages fell from favor because phages were difficult to
utilize because sophisticated methods and equipment would not appear for
many years. In the interim, antibiotics were discovered and their use
proliferated.

With the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, interest in phages has
increased. These critters are host specific and can now be manipulated
readily to produce very useful control organisms as presented above. Phages
aren’t new, but they have new uses!

Until next time,

Allan

Hartono and Company LLC

Food Safety Consulting

_____________________________________________________________

About The Dawson Company

www.thedawsonco.com

The Dawson Company consists of experienced, hands-on market and product
development professionals. We create sales! Our clients include Agrichemical
Registrants, Distributors and Technology Suppliers with “Need to Know” and
“Need to Sell” priorities in pre-harvest and post-harvest markets.

909-957-0507

Continue reading »]]> Thermal Pest Control Heats Up with Agro Thermal Systems!

AgroThermal Systems is the new U S /Europe based incarnation of the former Lazo TPC thermal pest control company. AgroThermal Systems is newly organized and located in Walnut Creek, California. It is poised to enter the “Very” Bio Rational pesticide market this spring.

You may recall that Thermal Pest Control technology involves passing a gas burner heat source through the orchard/field at about 5 miles/hour. The heat source (200 plus degrees at its source) is augmented with a continuous blast of air produced by a highly efficient blower system.

When the procedure is performed every few days to once a week, the cumulative effect is disruption of the pest/disease populations, stimulation of natural plant defense mechanisms including a specific stress protein, and generally improved fruit quality in the areas of color and fruit set.

It is thought that the plant’s responses are typical of stress responses which lead to survival characteristics like early maturity and abundant fruiting. It is true that the crops produced, i.e., table grapes have been unusually rich in antioxidant compounds.

You may contact us any time to find out more about this technology or look AgroThermal Systems up at www.agrothermalsystems.com.

Marketing such a technically “basic” but revolutionary device requires specific knowledge of the farmer’s pest control and crop setting requirements.

One of our Post Graduate colleagues at Columbia University has created an intriguing survey in which farmers may participate in order to help us understand these requirements. We urge you to help us by completing this survey and submitting it to us.

Please take a look at the Grower Survey 

If you are a grower, please fill it out and return it. If not a grower, please pass this along to those who can provide the needed information.

Thank you for your help in gathering this information!

All the best,

Art Dawson, PH.D.

Food Safety from Allan

New Diggs ….

We made he plunge and moved to the Big Island in Hawaii! It is indeed a wonderful place, but it does present some interesting changes. We are in the country, and like many such places, we must supply our own water. Instead of wells, water is captured via a glorified rain barrel termed a ‘catchment’. It’s a 10,000 gallon covered rain barrel! Like any surface water containment, it must be monitored for possible contamination.

To address the possible contamination issue, three filters (20, 10 and 5 microns) have been placed in the feed line to the house. After the last filter, a UV treatment unit was inserted that provides sufficient contact time to render the water potable. A bit of work to set up, but there’s no monthly water bill!

Until next time,

Allan

Hartono and Company LLC

Food Safety Consulting

Continue reading »]]> ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

California’s Water Supply – I’m Glad That We Have Our Reservoirs! 

Jan 10, 2012 and the California Snow Pack is at a meager 19% of average for this time of year! If the snow pack persists at this level until April, the total amount of precipitation from snow will be 7% of a “normal” year.

A drought in the making? We don’t know yet, but it seems sure that our snow melt water supply will be very much behind the abundance of last year and perhaps will be drastically below normal.

The water supply prospect for 2012? Thankfully, this is likely to be adequate. The snow pack of last year was 200% of this year’s present snow pack and much of the resulting water supply was captured in the State’s reservoirs. For example, Lake Orville in Butte County, the California State Water Project’s principal storage reservoir is currently at 115% of average. That level is 72 percent of Lake Orville’s total capacity. Lake Shasta, the federal Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir is at 108 percent of average for this time of year. San Luis Reservoir is at 139 percent of average capacity.

Why is this important? Well, the mountain snow pack that feeds these reservoirs and various streams and aquifers provides approximately 1/3 of California’s total water supply. With nearly 1/3 of California’s water supply needs for 2012 already in storage, there is still a good chance that our short term water needs will be covered. But, with or without mountain snow we will need local rainfall and mountain rainfall…….and lots of it.

Water storage capacity…..this year seems to be the year when the value of our reservoirs will be obvious to everyone. Survival of our State’s economy could be compromised without this storage capacity. Growth of our State’s economy will be impeded without more of it.

Water use efficiency….this year seems to be just another year when every farmer and rancher must make the best use of his water supply. Just another example of why The Dawson Company is happy to be on the cutting edge of water use technology along with our colleagues at Ag Water Chemical Co in Fresno. We will share some of Ag Water Chemical’s products and strategies in coming issues.

Continue reading »]]> ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

Want a Career with “Room at the Top”? Want Your Professional Life to Make a Difference?

Become a California Pest Control Adviser!

Authority, Respect, Good Income, Upside Potential; work out of doors, meet and influence people, do work that “matters for our Country”-Just a few fruits of a Pest Control Adviser’s (PCA) career.

What is a PCA you ask? A college educated, technically trained, State of California licensed expert in a specific discipline of Integrated Pest Management in California Agriculture. PCAs can work for public agencies, but most work for private sector agriculture production or crop care specialty companies.

Are PCA’s important? Virtually all pest control operations in the State of California are either “officially recommended”, formally prescribed, or in some way “authorized” by a Pest Control Advisor.

Don’t forget: One half of our country’s fruits and vegetable come from California’s farms and ranches. Yes, PCA’s are important!

The opportunity: There are about 3,000 licensed PCA’s in California. More than 1,000 of these are over age 55. About 300 over age 65. The PCA industry can absorb at least 1,000 newly qualified individuals over the next few years. Start college today and there will be a PCA career waiting for you when you graduate……if you prepare yourself to qualify.

And 10% of today’s PCAs are women! The ranks of women PCA’s will grow in California.

Want to know more: www.capa.com or “Ask Art” at www.thedawson.com.
All the best, Art Dawson, PH.D., California PCA license number 124360!

________________________________________________

Food Safety from Allan

Yep – What Art Said.

Over the many years I’ve been involved in pest control (and food safety), I’ve seen fewer and fewer young people seeking a career in this field. I’m not talking about just agriculture either – it’s even more pronounced in the field of medically important pests.

Several colleges and universities have reduced their course offerings because of a lack of interest. This situation is very troubling in a time when more and more food safety problems seem to be “in the news”, and arthropod borne diseases are increasingly prevalent. The industry needs new blood fill the shoes of us old timers.

Hopefully the “advertising” will continue and be successful in stimulating the younger generation to pursue a very rewarding career. They probably won’t get rich, but they’ll surely enjoy the work, and will feel a sense of accomplishment in protecting the health of their fellow human beings.

________________________________________________

Until next time,

Allan (REHS for almost 40 years – Oh Geez!)

Hartono and Company LLC

Food Safety Consulting

________________________________________________

The Dawson Company consists of experienced, hands-on market and product development professionals. We create sales! Our clients include Agrichemical Registrants, Distributors and Technology Suppliers with “Need to Know” and “Need to Sell” priorities in pre-harvest and post-harvest markets.

909-957-0507

Continue reading »]]> Good News for California Rice! Bad News for Algae!

ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

California’s Rice Crop is a Big Deal. 575,000 Northern California Acres are devoted to Rice.

More than 2 million pounds of rice are produced each year. Sixty Percent (60%) of the entire crop is exported.

Customers are found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.

Rice production means water consumption, but Northern California’s rice growers are very efficient in water use. They need about 2.5 acre feet of water per acre to produce a rice crop.

This is easily 20% less water use than is found in other California crops such as fruit trees and vines.

Huge rice fields are as level as table tops. They are flooded with a few inches of water to allow for rice seed germination and seedling emergence. As the rice seedlings emerge, the rice grower’s ancient enemy also emerges…..a single cell weed plant: algae!

Algae, commonly thought of as green algae, is the major pest for rice growers. Algae’s impact is that it grows near the surface of the water and it encapsulates the emerging rice shoots. The rice shoots grow, but they are bent over and never take on their upright growth pattern. Consequently, rice yields are reduced.

In California’s rice fields, an “ordinary” pest has evolved into a pest population comprised mainly of one specialized and resistant economic challenge. The algae that is emerging as dominant and destructive is: Nostoc spongioforme! We call it “Nostoc”.

Nostoc has become resistant to traditional algaecide treatments and represents a major pest control challenge.

The good news is that all 575,000 acres of rice stand to benefit from the work of a Central California company which specializes in Irrigation Technologies (and algae control). Nostoc stands to suffer!

Ag Water Chemical of Fresno has introduced a revolutionary new product for control of algae in rice fields. It is a liquid formulation of “activated copper” known as CopCheck. This new product has been developed in Northern California trials and received registration from Cal EPA in 2011.

Large scale field tests (2011) show that CopCheck offers attractive advantages:

1) CopCheck controls Nostoc! 2) CopCheck is effective at vanishing low concentrations: 60 parts per billion of active ingredient; 3) CopCheck “self dispersing”: applied to an entire field by a single person or by a single irrigation pump. No need to apply by airplane…….saves at least $10/acre!

You can easily get information about CopCheck: James Legari and Richard Clevanger are the principles of Ag Water Chemical and there are great friends of The Dawson Company.

Contact Ag Water Chemical at 559 227 1114, www.agwaterchemical.com.

Art

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Food Safety from Allan

And Speaking of Water …. Some Disturbing Information.

It has often been debated over the years whether microorganisms actually possess the ability to migrate in plant tissues. Recently published research1,2 by Amanda Deering et al of Purdue University substantiates that indeed both Salmonella serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 are able to do so in peanuts and mung beans, respectively.

Seeds of both plants were contaminated with known amounts of bacteria for a period of 30 minutes. To prevent the mechanical movement of the bacteria in plant tissue samples, the researchers employed a fixative prior to slicing. The pathogens were labeled with a fluorescent dye to detect their presence.

The Salmonella bacteria were found to be associated with every major tissue of the peanut seedling. In addition, the bacteria were reported to be at high levels (109 CFU/plant) after two days subsequent to the contamination of the seeds, and persisted at significant levels for several days thereafter.

Similarly, E. coli O157:H7 was found to be present in every major tissue of the mung bean sprout. The bacteria were at high levels of 107 CFU/plant and they persisted for a 12 day period, which was the length of the test

This information is disturbing in that it shows that certain seeds, even when treated prior to shipment, can be contaminated with these pathogens via soil and/or water. Further, once inside the plant the bacteria are now protected from the effects of sanitation procedures. This work further substantiates previous research, and emphasizes the critical need for proper agricultural practices to minimize the introduction of bacterial contaminants during plant growth. Review those GAP procedures to ensure your aren’t leaving yourself open to significant problems.

1 Deering et al. Food Research International 2011.01.061

2 Deering et al. Journal of Food Protection 74:8 Aug 2011 pp. 1224-30

Until next time,

Allan

Hartono and Company LLC

Food Safety Consulting

Continue reading »]]>

Good News Flash! McDonald’s is Getting Sweeter with Maraschino Cherries!

ART’S PERSPECTIVE:

The “Good News” is that McDonald’s is creating new demand (1). McDonald’s will consume Three Million Pounds of Maraschino Cherries each year……to start! The new item is known as the McCafe shake.

Each individual milk shake will consume one Maraschino Cherry!

For cherry producers, however, the big news is that these cherries will be: STEM LESS! Three million pounds is only about 1 % of U S production, but stem less cherries are a hard sell!

The fact is: Maraschino Cherries are mostly sold with the stems on. Ninety percent of Maraschino Cherry customers demand cherries with stems on. The supply of stem less cherries always exceeds demand.

McDonald’s new product line creates demand for the slowest moving item in the sweet cherry category. That’s good news because it creates a revenue stream where there has been little revenue.

For those who don’t know: Maraschino Cherries are created when fresh sweet cherries are “brined” especially for this particular use…..to become “Maraschino”.

Sweet cherry production is quite variable on a year to year basis; the total U S production in 2008 was 248,000 tons and the 2009 production was 443,000 tons. The amount of cherries brined is similarly widely variable, but the average seems to be around 50,000 tons per year.

Actually the demand for sweet cherries is increasing. U. S. consumption increased from 0.3 pounds/capita in 1966 to 1.2 pounds/capita in 2006. (2). The demand created by the McDonald’s is small in the total scheme of this market, but the demand for stem less cherries can grow and create new profitability.

Sweet cherries are increasingly known for their positive health effects……not a bad reputation to have, especially when served with a large cup of vanilla ice cream!

Art

(1) May 15, 2011 Good Fruit Grower

(2) Marketing Sweet Cherries, Shermain Hardesty, University of California, March 1, 2009

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Food Safety from AllanSo Are Those Yummy Maraschino Cherries Safe?

As Art related above, maraschino cherries are a popular food and may be even more so if McDonald’s sells enough shakes. But do they pose any potential health problems?

Maraschino cherries, as prepared in the USA, are made from light color varieties such as Royal Ann, Rainier or Gold. The cherries are bleached in a brine solution generally composed of sulfur dioxide, calcium chloride, calcium hydroxide, sulfite and water. The cherries remain in the brine for several weeks during which the sugars and colors leach out, and the cherries are “preserved”. Then specific amounts of sugar and artificial coloring are replaced in the pitted cherries to produce the desired sweetness and red color. In fact, the FDA’s definition of a maraschino cherry describes the process: The term “Maraschino Cherries” is regarded as the common or usual name of an article consisting of cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar and packed in a sugar syrup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor.” This food is indeed significantly processed.

Because the processed cherries could be prime medium for microbial contamination and they may remain on the shelf for some time, they are usually pasteurized and vacuum packed to preclude the presence of foodborne disease organisms. However, once opened for use, the cherries should be refrigerated properly or contamination may occur as the pH is about 3.6 (bad for most bacteria but okay for many molds), while the water activity is approximately 0.905 (good for most microbes in general). The possibility of contamination means that retailers using this garnish need to be vigilant with food storage and employee training, just like any food handling establishment.

Good processing procedures and proper handling result in a product that can last for many months unopened, and several days (if not weeks) refrigerated.

Sooooo…. yep, those maraschino cherries should be safe …. and pass me that ice cream shake with the red thing on top!

Until next time,

Allan, Hartono and Company LLC, Food Safety Consulting

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