High school student takes top honors in Colorado potato cookoff
THORNTON, CO -- A 17-year-old high school junior was awarded top honors and $1,000 cash at a March 19 student chefs' cookoff sponsored by the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee.
Six student chefs were chosen from an original field of 50 to compete in the cookoff. Heather Crosby, a student at Academy of Charter Schools in the Denver metro area city of Westminster, CO, was chosen by judges for her mashed potato doughnuts, which included Colorado russets as a primary ingredient.
Boskovich Farms sues Taco Bell for libel over E. coli episode
Oxnard, CA-based Boskovich Farms has filed a libel lawsuit against Taco Bell Corp. alleging that Taco Bell continued to link its green onions to the December E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 70 people in the Northeast, despite knowing the produce was not contaminated.
The lawsuit was filed the week of March 19 in Orange County Superior Court. Taco Bell Corp. is based in Irvine, CA.
Invasive apple moth in Northern California could hurt many commodities
Nothing quite like the light brown apple moth has ever been found in California before, nor was its arrival from other countries where it is native or established considered likely, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food & Agriculture are up against a steep learning curve in dealing with recent finds of the insect in the San Francisco Bay area.
Farr defends $25 million disaster relief for spinach producers
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep Sam Farr (D-CA) defended a move to attach $25 million for financially strapped spinach producers to an emergency spending bill for the four-year-old Iraqi war.
The House of Representatives passed the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill March 23 with $25 million that would help spinach producers nationwide who were hurt by the voluntary recall after the E. coli O157 outbreak in 2006 that sickened more than 200 people and resulted in three deaths.
USDA's Bruce Knight highlights farm bill at CGTFL annual meeting
Bruce Knight, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was the keynote speaker at the annual membership meeting luncheon of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League, held Monday, March 26, at Disney's Grand California Hotel in Anaheim, CA.
Cal Giant promotes family size containers, reduces costs
California Giant has been working with suppliers to develop new packaging options for strawberries to reduce costs and increase efficiencies throughout the distribution system.
The first result of that effort in 2007 for California Giant is a new packaging mix for the popular four-pound clamshells. The four-pounder is an essential part of the overall packaging mix offered by California Giant and is currently shipped in various configurations.
Albion variety and organic strawberries on the rise
Though proprietary varieties represent the largest percentage of strawberries planted statewide, representing 40 percent of the state's acreage, it is a University of California variety -- Albion -- that experienced the biggest jumped in acreage planted this year over last.
IN THE TRENCHES: Are you a decision-maker or a procrastinator?
Suppose your boss comes to you one day and says, "We have a sudden urgency that requires some quick decisions. Corporate headquarters has instructed us to downsize our workforce by 10 percent. You have to cut four people from your department. I need the names on my desk within an hour."
How would you react and which decisions would you make? Would you get angry, complain or just sit back and procrastinate? Some people would probably focus their thoughts on finding reasons why it can't be done rather than getting it done.
Salinas Valley kicks off National Ag Week with breakfast
MONTEREY, CA -- California Sen. Abel Maldonado, who's family runs a farm in Santa Maria, CA, told an audience of agricultural leaders and local and state officials that a joint effort is required to pass effective food-safety legislation.
The March 19 event was held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Monterey County Agricultural Education hosted the event as part of National Agriculture Week.
FDA hearing furthers discussion of food-safety issues
OAKLAND, CA -- The first public hearing convened by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration since the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with fresh spinach in September offered little new information about the outbreak more than six months ago, but it furthered the food-safety discussion among many of the usual industry representatives.