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October 2011

October 2011

Titan Farms Stone Fruit

H-2C Program Proposed

Variety Development for Pathogen Resistance

Undocumented Woes

Guest column: Detecting Bacteria in the Field

[Banner Middle] 3M Food Safety - May 5/1-5/31

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Titan Farms Stone Fruit

Last year, Fresh Cut featured the research done by Fruit Dynamics to develop a fresh-cut peach and nectarine program. Since then, South Carolina's Titan Farms has launched a test-market for a line of fresh-cut stone fruit. Titan Farms Ridge Spring, S.C.-based Titan Farms is situated in The Ridge area of South Carolina, the largest peach-growing region in the state. The company has been a fresh market grower and packer for the last 13 years, since its founding in 1999 by Chalmers Carr and his wife, Lori Anne. They leased land for the first two years, then in 2001 purchased 1,500 acres for peach production. Since that time, Carr has grown the business to 5,000 acres of peaches, 400 acres of bell peppers and 270 acres of broccoli, plus an additional 35 acres of watermelon and cantaloupe that are sold in-state. The farm now grows 56 varieties of peaches and nectarines, has its own packinghouse and is one the largest users of H2A visa workers in the country. Titan Farms has grown to be one of the largest shippers in the country, but Carr has continued to look for new business opportunities. "Any business starts evaluating…  » Read more

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Undocumented Woes

Department of Justice fines grower for pattern of hiring illegals Eurofresh Farms, Wilcox, Ariz., a year-round grower of greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers, has reached a settlement with the United States Department of Justice over the hiring and employment of unauthorized workers going back more than 10 years. The company pleaded guilty for "knowingly hiring and engaging in a pattern and practice of employing unauthorized aliens," according to the agency. The court issued a criminal forfeiture against Eurofresh Farms for $600,000 and ordered the company to remain on probation for five years. "This judgment is a message to other employers who engage in illegal practices that there is a real cost to their actions," said U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke. "We will continue to work with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security to ensure our nation's laws are followed." "Through the hard work and dedication of ICE and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eurofresh will be paying a significant penalty for circumventing our laws," said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona. "Easy access to employment is a clear driver for illegal immigration into the United States, and by holding…  » Read more

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Detecting Bacteria in the Field

Recent foodborne illness outbreaks and new estimates on foodborne disease illness from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC could possibly have been the impetus that spurred the recent passage of the food safety bill S.510. As part of that legislation, FDA will be required to create new produce safety regulations for producers of the highest-risk fruits and vegetables. This heightened sense of urgency for safe food has food growers and processors reevaluating their options for testing food at the source or in the field. EXISTING TESTING TECHNOLOGIES Growers and processors historically have used one of three methods to test for bacteria: adenosine triphosphate (ATP) cleanliness monitoring systems, culture testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Adenosine triphosphate cleanliness monitoring systems test for the molecule ATP, which is found in all organic materials. ATP assays measure the ATP from animal and vegetable cells as well as living or dead bacteria, yeast or mold. This assay can be used on non-organic surfaces to determine cleanliness and requires there be 10,000 to 100,000 bacteria present to produce enough ATP to result in a positive detection of bacteria. A culture assay is a laboratory test that…  » Read more

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