Fruit ICM News

In This Issue:

Calendar
"We Should Get Together"
Cryptosporidiosis Update
Calypso 4F Registration
The Value of a Food Safety Plan
Terminal Market Wholesale Fruit Prices
Preliminary October Climatological Data

Calendar

November 13-14: Beginning Commercial Stone Fruit Production for Direct Marketers, Cancelled

November 20, 2003: Food Safety Workshop II- Managing Liability for Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Marriott North Hotel, Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative. The workshop will focus on managing liability for fruit and vegetable growers, packers, and shippers to increase the marketability and safety of their produce. Contact Jennifer Hungerford at 614-246-8289, maahs@ofbf.org, or http://www.midamservices.org, click "projects."

November 25: Ohio Fruit Growers Society Research and Extension/Education Committee Meetings, Dutch Heritage Restaurant, Bellville, OH

November 25: Ohio Apple Marketing Program Committee Meeting, Dutch Heritage Restaurant, Bellville, OH

December 4: Eastern Region Shipper's Meeting, Holiday Inn, Baltimore-International Airport Maryland, 890 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, MD. See later article.

December 11: Ohio Fruit Growers Society and Ohio Vegetable Growers Society Policy Development Meeting, Dutch Heritage Restaurant, Bellville, OH

December 16: Ohio Fruit Growers Society Research Committee Meeting, Dutch Heritage Restaurant, Bellville, OH

January 21-23, 2004: Ohio Fruit & Vegetable Growers Congress, Ohio Roadside Marketing Conference, & Ohio Christmas Tree Association Winter Meeting, SeaGate Convention Centre and Radisson Hotel, 410 Jefferson Avenue, Toledo.

February 21-22: The North American Bramble Growers Association National Meeting, Tampa, FL. See the web site http://www.nabga for details.

We Should Get Together

If I had to identify the conversation that recurs most often with apple industry folks from other states (and within our own state - Pennsylvania), it would be this one: "We should get together and have all the states communicating the same thing to retailers; we should get together and work toward having a single Eastern identity; we should get together and figure out what the future will be now that Washington State has changed." "We should get together . . ." The time has come. On December 4th, the folks who represent the apple industry in Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and the New England states will have the opportunity to "get together" and discuss the issues most relevant to our businesses today. An event such as this has never happened before, because the industry has never looked the way it does now. From that perspective, this is a one-time opportunity to shape the appearance and direction of your industry. Will you be there?

Since planning this event, I've heard a myriad of responses, from, "It's about time," to "No way." Overwhelmingly, the response is a positive one and people are anxious to get started on the concept. But it's important to note that even though there has been discussion about making a move like this for many years, the timing for this particular meeting is not arbitrary. Several things have happened in the industry that has become catalyst for formalizing this identity in the east.

First, the Washington Apple Commission lost its ability to provide generic marketing for its state. Not only did this cause a vacuum with retail buyers who have been confused about how promotions may be done throughout this season, but we lost the residual effects of having Washington promote apples over other fruit categories at the retail level. Second, there has been a retail trend toward streamlining purchasing categories. We now find that we are described as being a Western apple, an Eastern apple, or an Import apple. These natural descriptions have come about because of the appearance and flavor characteristics of apples from the various regions, and because of availability throughout the year. And finally, the states in the east have become stronger in working together on projects that will benefit us all. Marketing projects such as size studies, promotional programs, and multi-state supplier relationships all serve to strengthen not only our communications with each other, but also our need for each other.

The timing for a discussion about a unified Eastern approach to the marketplace could not be better. With all that is happening with Eastern apples today, can you afford to miss this singular, significant meeting that will have such a profound impact on the future of your industry?

We hope to see you at the Eastern Region Shipper's Meeting, Holiday Inn, Baltimore ­ International Airport Maryland, 890 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, MD. Phone 410-859-8400. Meeting will be held Thursday, December 4, 2003, 10:00 AM ­ 4:00 PM (9:30 AM registration). Call to receive registration materials before November 15: Diana Aguilar, 717-783-5418, or e-mail her at c-daguilar@state.pa.us.

Cryptosporidiosis Update

"The following is case information on an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis associated with apple cider that we are investigating with the FDA, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the local health department. This is an isolated incident associated with only one producer. Sample results of water and cider that were collected by FDA at Sunny Slope Orchard have not been received as yet. Sample results on deer droppings picked up by ODH and tested for Crypto at the ODA Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory were negative.

We currently have 1370 gallons of cider on embargo at Sunny Slope: 95 one-gallon containers, 5 fifty-five gallon barrels, and 2 five hundred gallon bulk holding tanks. Sunny Slope Orchard did a voluntary recall of the product that they distributed to various retail stores.

The epidemiology case information is very strong implicating cider from Sunny Slope. Therefore, even though sample results have not been received, the ODH felt it was important to send out a press release to advise individuals who may have the cider in their possession to not drink it."

Information from the ODH concerning their investigation:

• There have been ten confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis with a history of consuming Sunny Slope cider.
• They range in age from 5 to 48, median age is 36 years. Six are female, four are male.
• Eight are residents of Stark County, and there is one each from Summit County and Cuyahoga County.
• The diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis has been confirmed by lab testing in all ten cases.
• Five of the cases consumed cider they had purchased at Sunny Slope (self-serve jugs, or by cup) between September 20 and 26. They became ill September 24-29.
• A 6th case, the daughter of one of the above five cases, had no history of cider consumption. She probably acquired her infection from her father.
• A 7th case purchased cider at Sunny Slope on October 6 or 7 and became ill on October 19.

The remaining 3 cases are linked to cider purchased wholesale from Sunny Slope:

• Case 1. This person attended the Yankee Peddler festival in Canal Fulton in mid-September. She consumed cider there. Two of 3 vendors were selling Sunny Slope cider. She became ill on September 25.
• Case 2. This person had Sunny Slope cider at a party. It had been purchased from Bordners grocery, Massillon. Reportedly, there were 50 people at this party and others were also ill. This person became ill on October 16.
• Case 3. This person had Sunny Slope cider during a hayride at Walnut Drive Garden in Portage County on October 4. Reportedly, there were 45 people on this hayride, and others were also ill. This person became ill on October 11."

Late on October 28 the ODH (state, not local) felt a press release must be made available to warn anyone who still had the cider either for sale or in their refrigerator. The following is the ODH press release:

ODH: Sunny Slope Cider from Stark May Cause Illness; Should Be Discarded

The major symptom associated with cryptosporidiosis is diarrhea with cramping and abdominal pain. People usually become ill about seven days after exposure, but could experience symptoms between one to 12 days after exposure to the parasite. Symptoms often come and go over a 30-day period, but people may continue to be infectious for several weeks after recovering.

Cryptosporidiosis is spread through contaminated food and beverages or through the fecal-oral route. As with many infectious diseases, cryptosporidiosis' spread can be limited though proper hand washing. Be sure to wash hands after using the restroom, before preparing meals and drinks, and before eating.

ODH is working in concert with local health departments, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the outbreak, which has sickened 10 people in Cuyahoga, Stark, and Summit counties.

Sunny Slope agreed to voluntarily recall the product from store shelves, according to ODA. This advisory is limited only to cider with the Sunny Slope label purchased between September 20 and October 23.

Calypso 4F Registration

Recently, Bayer CropScience LP announced the registration of a new insecticide Calypso 4F for use on fruit crops. The active ingredient, thiacloprid, is another new neo-nicotinoid insecticide registered for use on apples and pears. Calypso possesses both excellent systemic activity and excellent crop safety. Its mode of action is through interference with the nicotinergic acetylchlolin receptor and controls pests by both contact and stomach activities. Calypso has a low acute toxicity to warm-blooded animals; however, it is highly toxic to marine/estuarine invertebrates.

Calypso possesses activity on apples against aphids, leafminers, leafhoppers, mirid bugs, codling moth, and plum curculio. It will also suppress scale insects and the apple maggot. On pears, it is active against pear psylla, aphids, mealybugs, leafminers, and the pear midge. It will also suppress scale insects on pears. Calypso has a 12-hour restricted entry interval (REI) and should not be applied less than 30 days before harvest (PHI = 30 days) on both apples and pears. Do not apply more than 8 fl oz per acre in a single application and no more than 16 fl oz per acre per year on either apples or pears.

The Value of a Food Safety Plan

Talking about "value" is not something to be done lightly with growers. Value is the name of the game. Without value you could "lose the farm," literally. Yet, you still hear people bandying around the word "value" for every little thing, as well as the big ones. "Current cash value," "intrinsic value," and "value-added" are a few of the ways "value" enters our lives, clouds our eyes, and fogs our brains before we read another word.

So, I will keep it simple. I am talking about how important it is for you to reduce your risks. Reducing your risks is the value of a Food Safety Plan. Food Safety Plans are a systematic way to assess the food safety risks in your operation and document your effort to reduce them.

How does it minimize your risks? Reducing food safety risk for consumers speaks for itself. Growers grow not only for the opportunity to make a livelihood, but they also grow for the value (there's that word again) they add to people's lives. Making people sick is not acceptable to any grower.

Reducing your risk of doing so is, as they say, invaluable. Another form of risk reduction can occur in the unfortunate event of a fresh produce associated, food borne outbreak. When the FDA is informed of an outbreak, its agents study the cases, conduct laboratory tests, and then conduct an "environmental investigation." The nature of this third step in their investigation process is to first determine if the contamination was most likely to have occurred at the point of food preparation, and then to determine where it may have occurred if not there. Having a food safety plan in place helps to establish the credibility of the grower as a safe operation and ultimately to reduce the risk that an investigation ever focuses on the farm.

Finally, another important area of risk reduction is lost business. The number of distributors and retailers requiring growers to have food safety plans is increasing. Many are accompanying this requirement with the specification that the grower undergo annual third party audits to establish that the Food Safety Plan is in place and being implemented. In this environment, having a practical food safety plan can be a selling point for your business, and can reduce the likelihood that you are passed over for growers who have made the effort to reduce their risks.

One service being provided to growers through the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative is assistance in developing a Food Safety Plan. The initiative is financed in part or totally through a grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the State of Ohio, and the United States Department of Agriculture under the provisions of the Specialty Crop Grant.

For more information on the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative, contact John Wargowsky, 614-246-8286 or jwargows@ofbf.org, or Mary Donnell, 419-354-6916 or donnell.8@osu.edu or visit http://www.midamservices.org and click on "projects."

Terminal Market Wholesale Fruit Prices November 5, 2003

Apples
Cartons cell-pack						Terminal Market
	U.S. ExFcy Empire	MI 96s 20-20.50				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Empire	NY 80s 23.00				Detroit
		NY 100s 23.00				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	MI 80s 20.00				Detroit
		MI 96s 20-21.50				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	NY 80s 23.00				Detroit
		NY 100s 23.00				Detroit
		NY 120s 20.50-21				Detroit
	U.S. Fancy McIntosh	NY 80s 17.50-18.50				Pittsburgh
		NY 100s 16.00-17.50				Pittsburgh
		NY 125s 15.75				Pittsburgh
Cartons tray-pack
	U.S. ExFcy Red Delicious	PA 113s, 125s & 138s 15.00				Pittsburgh
	U.S. ExFcy Red Rome	PA 80s 17.00-22.00				Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy
	Fuji	PA 100s, 113s 12.00				Pittsburgh
	Gala	PA 125s 12.00				Pittsburgh
	Golden Delicious	PA 72s, 88s, 100s, & 125s 12.00		Pittsburgh
	Red Delicious	PA 100s, 113s, & 125s 12.00				Pittsburgh
		WV 88s 16.50				Pittsburgh
		WV 100s 16.50				Pittsburgh
		WV 125s & 138s 14.25				Pittsburgh
	U.S. Fancy Jonathan	PA 88s 18.00				Pittsburgh
Cartons tray/cellpack
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	WI 96s 21.00				Chicago
12 3-lb filmbags
	U.S. ExFcy Empire	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-13.50				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Gala	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-13.50				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Golden Delicious	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.00				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Idared	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.00				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Jonathan	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.75				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.50				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	NY 2 ¼" min 12.00-13.75				Pittsburgh
	U.S. ExFcy Red Delicious	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.00				Detroit
	U.S. ExFcy Rome	MI 2 ½" min 11.50-12.00				Detroit
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Empire	MI 2 ¼" min 13.25				Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Fuji	PA 2 ½" min 12.00				Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy G. Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min 14.25			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Gala		PA 2 ½" min 12.00			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy G. Delicious		PA 2 ½" min 12.00			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min 14.25			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		PA 2 ½" min 12.00			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Rome		MI 2 ¼" min 14.25			Pittsburgh
	Comb U.S. ExFcy-U.S. Fcy Royal Gala		MI 2 ¼" min 16.25			Pittsburgh
	U.S. Fcy Gala		MI 2 ¼" min/up 12-13.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Gala		MI 2 ¼" min 11.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Golden Delicious		IL 2 ¼" min/up 11.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Golden Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min/up 12-13.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Golden Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min 11.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Jonamac		MI 2 ¼" min/up 10.50-11.50			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Jonathan		IL 2 ¼" min/up 10.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy McIntosh		IL 2 ¼" min/up 14.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy McIntosh		MI 2 ¼" min/up 10-11.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy McIntosh		MI 2 ½" min 10.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy McIntosh		NY 2 ½" min 12-13.50			Pittsburgh
	U.S. Fcy Paula Red		MI 2 ¼" min/up 10.50			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min/up 10-12.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		MI 2 ¼" min 11.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Rome		MI 2 ¼" min/up 10.00			Chicago
	U.S. Fcy Red Rome		NY 2 ½" min 13.00-13.50			Pittsburgh
Bushel cartons loose
	U.S. Fcy Empire		MI 2 ¾" up 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Gala		MI 2 ¾" up 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Golden Delicious		MI 3" min 12.00			Detroit
			MI 2 ¾" up 10.00-12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Jonagold		MI 3" min & 2 ¾" up 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. McIntosh		MI 3" min 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. McIntosh		MI 2 ¾" up 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Northern Spy		MI 2 ¾" up 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		MI 3" min 12.00			Detroit
	U.S. Fcy Red Delicious		MI 2 ¾" up 10.00-12.00			Detroit
Bushel cartons loose
	No grade marks, No size marks
	Empire	MI 13.25				Pittsburgh
	Golden Delicious	MI 14.25				Pittsburgh
	Jonagold	PA 10.00				Pittsburgh
	Red Delicious	MI 14.25				Pittsburgh
	Rome	MI 14.25				Pittsburgh
	Rome	PA 10.00				Pittsburgh
	Royal Gala	MI 16.25				Pittsburgh
Bins per 5# bag
	U.S. ExFcy McIntosh	PA 2 ½" min 1.67				Pittsburgh
Blueberries
	Flats 12 4.4 oz. cups with lids	MI med (controlled atmosphere) 19.00					Chicago
		MI sml-med 28.00				Detroit
	Flats 12 6-oz cups with lids	MI med-lge 17.00				Pittsburgh
Grapes
	Ctns 16 1-lb cntrs with lids,
	U.S. One Concords	MI med-lge 17.00				Detroit
		NY med-lge 18.00				Detroit
Peaches
½ bu cartons
	U.S. ExOne, various yellow flesh varieties		NJ 2 ¾" up holdovers 5.00			Detroit

The intent of listing terminal market prices is to provide information available in the public domain. It is not intended for price setting, only to assist growers in evaluating the value of their crops. Producers need to remember that the prices listed are gross, and consideration must be given to marketing costs, including commission, handling charge, gate fees, and possible lumper fees.  

Preliminary Monthly Climatological Data for Selected Ohio Locations, October, 2003

Temperatures in degrees F, Precipitation in inches

Record low set: 1^st - Mansfield 34, 2^nd - Mansfield 30

Record low tied: 2^nd - Cincinnati 32, 6^th - Cleveland 34

Table Created by Ted W. Gastier, OSU Extension from National Weather Service, OARDC & Local Data

Ted W. Gastier
Extension Agent, Agriculture
Tree Fruit Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension Huron County
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, OH 44857
Phone: (419)668-8210
FAX: (419)663-4233
E-mail: gastier.1@osu.edu

Copyright © The Ohio State University 2003

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868