PMAC weekly update 12th to 19th August

1. New Zealand News: Government moves to protect elite soils; Government responds to Royal Society Te Apārangi report on gene editing; Robotics no longer at the talking stage; Hawke's Bay apple industry is building 1500 new beds for RSE workers; Vanuatu union encouraged by seasonal workers' rights win; New Zealand based Agtech company appoints new Chief Technology Officer; Countdown records massive spike in ugly fruit sales; Industry to take lead on long-term management of potato mop-top virus

2. International news: Climate change threatens entire supply chain; Trade war could last a decade’; Cold is now officially hot across the Asia Pacific; Trade war boost for Indian apple growers; Escalating Sino-US trade war has limited impact on fruit import and export companies"; Fifty percent of consumers would buy 'vertical agriculture' products; Can vertical farming solve Asia’s food crisis?; Equitable Food Initiative receives Walmart Foundation grant; “There is no future without sustainability”; States sue Trump EPA to stop its OK of toxic pesticide; European consumers not threatened by pesticides; Professor claims everything we know about carbon footprint is wrong; Special Days Calendar 2020 released; Study shows foods with vitamin A may help protect you against sun damage, skin cancer; Vegetable-rich Wahls diet lowers fatigue in MS-patients by raising good cholesterol; New traceability technology can give consumers peace of mind

Editors commentsThe two interesting New Zealand articles this week have been released by Ministers. The first announces the release of the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land which will look to protect good horticultural land . From the media release it looks as though the ultimate decision on what it is appropriate to protect at a local level and there are no targets set for retention of valuable land nationally will be left to Councils. If you feel strongly either way its worth considering a submission because I know from past interaction with Government departments the number of submissions is important to them. Submissions do not need to be long and can just be bullet pointed with even a couple of points.

The second follows Professor Gluckman’s call for the Government to re look at GMO’s. David Parkers media release indicates that he will ask officials to relook at settings to enable medical uses. I would hope that this scope is widened to include varieties with desirable traits that can for example be used to counter Climate Change. This will have a significant effect of what varieties our growers have access to in the future. It will be worth keeping an eye open for the consultation document which

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In the International section there are two areas with more than two articles . The biggest number cover sustainability issues . One has to ask if the increased interest is in part being driven by Europos high temperatures over their summer. Thankfully one article identifies that carbon miles ( i.e. import by sea from a distance) are not always the biggest contributors. It is obvious from this line up that the world and customers in particular are taking sustainability very seriously and New Zealand’s sustainability efforts will become increasingly important to our customers.

Then there are two interesting articles about Trumps trade war against China . This war will not end anytime soon so though Chinese businesses are developing strategies to deal with the change. Despite Trumps best effort the USA trade deficit with China grew again over the last quarter . Both are interesting, and who long term issues, that we will hear more about.

1. New Zealand News

1.1. Government moves to protect elite soils New Zealand’s most fertile and versatile land will be given new protection under proposals released last week by Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The Government’s draft National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) proposes a nationwide approach to protecting our most productive land for future generations. 

About 14 per cent of New Zealand’s land is categorised as highly productive.  “The National Policy Statement introduces a clear and consistent policy that councils must follow when making decisions on land use. It proposes that councils be required to ensure there’s enough highly productive land available for primary production now and in the future, and protect it from inappropriate subdivision, use and development.  The NPS-HPL also supports other important government priorities, including freshwater management. There is a two month consultation period Full article available hereFor the full consultation document see https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations/proposed-national-policy-statement-for-highly-productive-land/

1.2. Government responds to Royal Society Te Apārangi report on gene editing

“The recently released papers by the Royal Society Te Apārangi note there are considerable benefits that gene editing can bring to our lives, particularly in health,” Environment Minister David Parker said.

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The provisions governing gene editing, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), were amended in 2003 in line with the Government’s overall policy of proceeding with caution while preserving opportunities.  Officials have been asked where lower regulatory hurdles ought to be considered to enable medical uses that would result in no inheritable traits, or laboratory tests where any risk is mitigated by containment. The recommendation to clarify conflicting or inconsistent definitions across the regulatory framework will also be considered.” Full article available here

Commentary 1.3. Robotics no longer at the talking stageRobotics has moved out of the talking stage and into the early doing stages, says the chief executive of Plant and Food Research, Dr David Hughes.

Dr David Hughes, CEO of PFR, says in just the last year, various robotic companies in different countries had done field trials on different crops -- strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, lettuces and asparagus. And there had been plenty to interest NZ in trials of robotic picking of apples and kiwifruit. Picking by hand still remains cheaper, he says. “But the cost of robotics is coming down sharply and you can see a point where those two lines will cross and robotics will be the cheaper option.”

Hughes says the widely held view is that technology will reduce labour costs. True, he says, but other benefits may reduce costs over a whole sector and so improve producers’ returns. For example, while using robotics for loading containers onto ships saves money, the real gain is that robotics enables shipping companies to more precisely schedule their ships to avoid having them wait to be loaded.“Absolute precision in loading schedules saves a lot more money than just the cost of labour. So in the horticultural industry, yes there will be labour benefits, but I think there will be lots of secondary benefits we can’t see,” he says.

Hughes says robotics and technology for horticulture also have the advantage in its ability to gather and immediately act on information a human or hand picker cannot act on. Full article available here

1.4. Hawke's Bay apple industry is building 1500 new beds for RSE workersThe Hawke's Bay's apple industry says it is investing over $30 million into building more than 1500 new beds for Recognised Seasonal Employment workers, which they say is already helping fix the region's housing crisis.

Right now, Hawke's Bay growers are awaiting the Government's imminent decision on whether the region will get a 1000 extra RSE workforce to help pick its $650 million apple crop in 2020.

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This season millions of dollars' worth of apples were left rotting on the trees in Hawke's Bay. The Government declared a seasonal labour shortage for the second consecutive year. The new RSE beds, at an estimated value of $25,000 each, include onsite purpose-built accommodation, along with large-scale "fit for purpose" renovated existing sites. There are already 1350 beds consented and over 400 more beds in the pipeline.

When the project, which also includes upgrading existing accommodation, is complete it is expected that almost all the 5400 RSE workers needed in Hawke's Bay will be fully accommodated by industry, with no more need for rented houses in urban areas.

Along with helping place vulnerable New Zealanders into short-term accommodation, some are also being offered jobs working in the apple industry along with transport to work each day which is also part of the partnership. The RSE scheme is putting more and more New Zealanders into fulltime employment and career pathways especially in new technology areas. But we can't grow jobs if millions of dollars' worth of apples are left rotting on trees. Full article available here

1.5. Vanuatu union encouraged by seasonal workers' rights winVanuatu's National Workers Union has been encouraged by the increased organisation of seasonal workers in neighbouring countries in asserting their basic rights. Thousands of Pacific Islanders go to New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, but other visa categories have become harder for Pacific migrants to obtain

Dozens of ni-Vanuatu on Australia's Seasonal Worker Program last week won a settlement after taking legal action against an agriculture contractor for gross underpayment and mistreatment reported www.rnz.co.nz . The union's representative Ephraim Kalsakau said the workers had become ill from exposure to chemicals while picking tomatoes. He said the process towards the settlement has underlined the democratic principles that ni-Vanuatu seasonal workers learn about while abroad.

Mr Kalsakau said Vanuatu's government could have done more to help ni-Vanuatu doing seasonal work abroad to be abreast of their rights. There has been a slow union up-take for ni-Vanuatu in New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. Mr Kalsakau said that his union was gradually working with New Zealand's Amalgamated Union towards raising awareness about worker rights, and registering for a union. The Amalgamated Workers Union has said that ni-Vanuatu workers have been concerned about the range of deductions coming out of their wages, but were reluctant to speak out lest they lose their RSE work. Full article available here

1.6. New Zealand based Agtech company appoints new Chief Technology Officer

Autogrow has named Jonathan Morgan as its new Chief Technology Officer, adding he will be responsible for continuing development of their innovations. Jonathan brings to the

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role more than 18 years of commercial expertise in software and integrated technology solutions for customers. The company said he has also led teams in product development, continuous improvement and customer experience. His previous role was as Ventures VP Engineering at EROAD, a company with a focus on road charging, compliance and telematics services across NZ, Australia and North America.

Over the past two years Autogrow said it has doubled their employee number and launched solutions for indoor growing including the first API (Application 2 Programming Interface), the first SDK (Software Development Kit), the first indoor agtech hackathon – #CropsOnMars, and most recently the farm management platform FarmRoad. Full article available here

1.7. Countdown records massive spike in ugly fruit salesNew Zealand loves ugly, well, when it comes to fruit and vegetables anyway. Sales of Countdown's The Odd Bunch have skyrocketed by more than 145 per cent in the past year as more and more shoppers get on board. Full article available here

Biosecurity 1.8. Industry to take lead on long-term management of potato mop-top virusA joint Biosecurity New Zealand and Potatoes New Zealand response to the crop disease Potato mop-top virus (PMTV) is being closed out, with industry taking the lead on long-term management.PMTV was confirmed in New Zealand in September 2018, initially concentrated in grower paddocks in Canterbury. A national survey to determine the extent of the disease has now been completed and the virus has been confirmed throughout the country north to south, indicating that it has been in New Zealand for a long period of time.

“Biosecurity New Zealand will continue to support industry in helping them develop the long-term management plan, which will include non-regulatory controls and voluntary agreement. Full article available here

2. International news

Comment 2.1. GAIN reportsGain reports are from the “Global Agricultural Information Network” and are produced by the USDA. They are designed to provide timely information on the economy, products and issues in foreign countries that are likely to have an impact on United States agricultural production and trade. The information in them is written for USA exporters but the majority is equally relevant to New Zealand. With regard to import regulations for a particular market New Zealand exporters should first check the countries ICPR on MPI’s

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web site. These are collated specifically for New Zealand product. However, the Gain reports often provide additional information that is useful e.g. on grading and labelling, economic profiles. This week see:

a) Burma Exporter Guide 2019 This report ….. provides practical tips and information on local business practices, consumer preferences and trends, food standards and regulations, and import and inspection procedures.  It also identifies market trends and opportunities for the three major market sectors (food retail, food service, and food processing). Exporter Guide 2019_Rangoon_Burma - Union of_8-6-2019

b) Costa Rica Retail Foods Report Competition continues to drive retailers in Costa Rica to look for new ways to add value to their brands and attract more consumers in 2019.  Retail Foods_San Jose_Costa Rica_8-2-2019

c) Hong Kong Highly Competitive Retail Sector Remains Stable. Hong Kong is the fifth-largest export market for U.S. consumer-oriented agricultural products, by value. With a dynamic food culture, sophisticated buyers, and world-class logistical infrastructure, Hong Kong is an attractive market for innovative U.S. food and beverage products as well as a gateway to the region. Retail Foods_Hong Kong_Hong Kong_7-5-2019

d) The Bahamas Retail Foods Report The Bahamas is the second largest market for U.S. consumer-oriented products in the Caribbean.  It sources over 70 percent of its consumer-ready products from the United States, creating an environment of opportunity for U.S. suppliers of retail products in practically all product categories.   Retail Foods_Miami ATO_Caribbean Basin_8-8-2019

Regulatory2.2. Climate change threatens entire supply chainThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a report on Climate Change and Land and highlighted the ways in which climate change can exacerbate land degradation and how climate change is affecting all four pillars of food security. The four pillars outlined were: availability (yield and production), access (prices and ability to obtain food), utilisation (nutrition and cooking), and stability (disruptions to availability).

Food security will be increasingly affected by future climate change through yield declines – especially in the tropics – increased prices, reduced nutrient quality, and supply chain disruptions. New knowledge shows an increase in risks from dryland water scarcity, fire damage, permafrost degradation and food system instability, even for global warming of around 1.5°C. “Very high risks related to permafrost degradation and food system instability are identified at 2°C of global warming.

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However, there is some optimism in the report for producers as it recommends an increase in plant-based diets including fruit and vegetables to help limit climate change. Full article available here

The reports also states keeping global warming below 2 degrees C (3.6 F) can be achieved only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including land and food. The panel of scientists said agriculture, deforestation and other land use - such as harvesting peat and managing grasslands and wetlands - generate about one-third of human greenhouse gas emissions and 44% of methane emissions. Full article available here

2.3. Trade war could last a decade’The US-China trade war has forced dealers and producers in China to diversify their markets, with no sign of an imminent solution to the dispute as it drags into a second year. Importers decision to look west is aided by Beijing’s westward economic strategy: the Belt and Road Initiative , designed to connect China with Europe and Africa through transcontinental infrastructure investment. As part of the initiative, traders can benefit from streamlined customs clearance when doing business with belt and road partner countries.

Even optimists regarded a trade deal between China and the US as a remote possibility after US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell by announcing additional 10 per cent tariffs on US$300 billion of Chinese imports, effective September 1. On Friday and over the weekend, Trump again boasted that China “badly” wanted a deal because thousands of businesses were leaving the country, but said he was not ready to strike one with Beijing. Chinese officials warned they were prepared to retaliate if Trump’s threatened tariffs were implemented.

While China cannot match the US by escalating tariffs dollar for dollar, it can increase regulatory barriers to create headaches for US companies, such as a longer customs inspection process, extensive paperwork clarification, tougher safety inspections and more time-consuming licensing, as well as using its “unreliable entity list” to limit US companies’ commercial opportunities in China.

The trade war has taken a toll on China’s overall economic growth. Its GDP grew 6.2 per cent in the second quarter, its weakest in at least 27 years. Exports to the US fell 7.8 per cent year on year in June, the first full month showing the effect of the US raising tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese products from 10 to 25 per cent in response to the collapse of trade talks in May.

With a bigger fall in imports from the US, which slumped 31.4 per cent in June, China still had a trade surplus with the US that rose 11 per cent from May’s US$26.9 billion to reach US$29.9 billion.The US economy also slowed in the second quarter, but GDP still rose 2.1 per cent, slightly above the expected 2 per cent.

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Lu Xiang, a researcher on US issues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, found that the sentiment was unexpectedly calm during his recent conversations with scores of small- and medium-sized enterprise owners in the eastern Zhejiang province, one of China’s economic powerhouses.“The worst scenario for them is a reduction of profits,” he said. “They are very calm about the current situation and they don’t have plans to lay off workers – only to reduce extra working hours. The workers also feel that it is a good chance for respite after years of overwork.”

We don’t cut sales hastily because it will affect our capacity, but prices are adjustable,” he said. “We are quite flexible and can be quick to meet small orders. “The US is an important market, but it is not all that we have. We have treated export to the US as a non-profitable market, but we will maintain the US market while we expand into markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. China’s domestic market also has great potential.”

Kuijs, of Oxford Economics, said Trump’s latest threat had made any trade deal less likely to happen.“We expect this step to make China less keen to achieve a deal and more determined to prepare itself for long-term economic tension with the US,” he said. Observers have said it would now be difficult for China to make any major concessions without being seen as yielding to US pressure, while the US’ still resilient economy had given it a strong foothold in talks.

“Trump is immune from [criticism over] China issues during the presidential election campaign as long as the trade conflicts continues because he’s been the hardest president in US history,” he said.“It is in Trump’s political interest to let trade tensions play out as long as they can, while the economy is OK. If the stock market or economy tanks, then that’s a different story. But as long as they are good, he can wait and it benefits him politically.”

“At a time when the US-China economic relationship is badly in need of thoughtful and meaningful repair, this tariff wrecking ball, which will effectively impact everything Americans buy from China, will only empower Chinese voices calling for self-reliance and disengagement.” Some foreign companies have relocated their production outside China or slowed their China investment plans because of the trade war, but the Chinese government has played down concerns over a wave of production cuts, claiming there were only sporadic cases. Full article available here

Business/ Industry2.4. Cold is now officially hot across the Asia PacificThere has been robust demand for high quality industrial and logistics assets in Asia Pacific in recent years. Irrespective of asset type, the driver has frequently come from strong domestic consumption.

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Coupled with the juggernaut of e-commerce, the associated industry expansion and the ongoing development of modern logistics facilities into an institutional investment product, cold storage has carved out a substantial niche with the promise of sustainable growth for the foreseeable future.It is not a new concept in Asia Pacific, but the investment opportunity cold storage offers hasn't been fully realised. Until recently, that is. As a result, the pickup in interest has led to investors seeking investment opportunities at all stages of the supply chain, with temperature-controlled warehouses, or cold storage, rapidly emerging as an area of focus.

Particularly in Asia, a growing middle-class population is driving the fortunes of cold storage. This is especially true when considering robust demand for high quality groceries sourced from home and abroad continues to swell. Asia Pacific grocery imports were valued at US$373 billion in 2018, with imports of high-value items growing especially rapidly. Imports of berry fruits including strawberries and blackberries to Asia Pacific recorded a CAGR of 7.5 per cent between 2013 and 2018.

Investors also see the potential of cold storage facilities in maintaining the integrity of food. Cold storage can significantly reduce food loss and wastage during transportation, storage and handling by extending the shelf-life of temperature-sensitive products. Food losses in China amounted to US$15 billion in 2017, primarily due to inadequate cold chain facilities. The total volume of food losses was around 20 per cent of groceries distributed, a ratio three times higher than that in advanced economies. Full article available here

2.5. Trade war boost for Indian apple growersIndian apple growers have been able to make the most of a bumper crop this season with the trade dispute between India and the US creating a gap in the market, according to local news sources.In June India made the latest move in an ongoing trade dispute with the US by raising tariffs on 28 items. This included raising the import tariff on US apples by 20 per cent, from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.According to a report from The Print, growers in one of India’s major apple producing states, Himachal Pradesh, said the benefits of the raise have been immediate as US imports account for nearly 35 per cent of total apple imports. “Duty on apples from other countries such as Chile, Turkey and Poland among others will remain at 50 per cent. Yet, fewer apples brought from the US will give space to our fruit.” Full article available here

China

2.6. Escalating Sino-US trade war has limited impact on fruit import and export companies"

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Chinese import companies are directly affected and the impact of the trade war is clearly visible. Many representatives for Chinese import companies stated that they are still importing from the USA, but their import volume is significantly smaller. In the end, the additional custom tariffs severely weaken the competitive position of US products in the Chinese market, but there are still customers willing to pay the additional cost. There still is a definite market demand for US products. The import of these products will therefore not come to an end, but the pace of trade will slow down. Furthermore, many Chinese import companies are turning their attention to other countries that could replace the USA and satisfy Chinese market demand for certain products."

"The Sino-US trade war does have an impact on our business, but in the end the influence remains extremely limited. First, we have a large variety of fruit to choose from, such as durian, coconuts, mangos teen, and dragon fruit from Southeast Asia, oranges and grapes from Australia, and apples from New Zealand. We will shift towards alternatives when the time is right, so that we can guarantee both product quality and optimum price for our customers in the Chinese market.

Second, the latitude of China and the USA is not that different and the production seasons are quite similar. Chinese market demand for off-season fruit from Australia is much stronger than demand for fruit imported from USA during the production season in China. Full article available here

2.7. Fifty percent of consumers would buy 'vertical agriculture' productsResearchers from the Department of Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products surveyed around 500 consumers from Germany on various vertical farming systems. The rating was for a refrigerator-sized appliance for home use, a medium-sized greenhouse in supermarkets, and a vertical farm that can be built into former industrial buildings. For 81 percent of consumers, environmental friendliness is an important issue.

Only seven percent had already heard of vertical agriculture. Interestingly enough, half of the participants would buy fresh products from vertical farming systems. It also shows that the larger the system, the higher the likelihood that it will be considered sustainable. The small systems for household use were rated worse overall. Full article available here

Can vertical farming solve Asia’s food crisis?Anew video has been released on the vertical farming industry in Singapore looking at Sustenir agriculture, a vertical farm located in Singapore. You can watch the full video here https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9132706/can-vertical-farming-solve-asia-s-food-crisis/

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2.8. Equitable Food Initiative receives Walmart Foundation grantThe equitable Food Initiative has received a $1.2 million grant from Walmart Foundation to advance responsible labour practices through workforce development programs on fresh produce farms in Mexico. The grant runs through the end of 2020.

Since 2012, EFI said it has worked to build its social assurance program in the United States and Mexico. In 2018 the potential for social assurance programs to advance labour protection received new impetus when the fresh produce industry published the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labour Practices. The charter outlines guiding principles and effectively elevates labour concerns to the same critical level as food safety. The Walmart Foundation grant supports EFI to offer workforce development and certification programs to more Mexican suppliers. But the grant also supports outreach to and collaboration with like-minded organizations that want to expand social assurance protections for produce farmworkers in Mexico. EFI said it will work with partners to develop training workshops, assessment tools and other materials.

According to the company, another key focus of the grant is to strengthen EFI’s capacity to develop responsible recruitment programs, to work with and build the capacity of Mexican organizations and to engage public and private sector leaders on recruitment challenges. Full article available here

2.9. “There is no future without sustainability”Sustainability is at the heart of the Dutch Flower Group (DFG). It has been fully integrated in the company's strategy. “We believe that we have to take responsibility”, says corporate social responsibility manager Raimon Loman. How does the world’s largest export company in flowers and plants do this? With a turnover of more than 1.5 billion euros, the company realizes that it can make an impact on the floriculture chain. "Thanks to our scale size, we can take initiatives to work sustainably and to raise awareness about the theme of sustainability, but we cannot do this by ourselves. Sustainability concerns everyone."

DFG is working on corporate social responsibility with all companies in the family. "That is one of the pillars of our strategy. For example, that means transparent and fair trade, sustainable deployment of employees and a volume of at least 90% of sustainably purchased products. Furthermore, our buildings are energy-efficient and CO2 reduction is an important theme." DFG's activities in the area of sustainability are connected to the so-called Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. "Every company in our family has a sustainability ambassador who is responsible for sustainability only. The strategy is provided by DFG, but the individual companies make the policies. The only objective that DFG truly enforces is the FSI objective that by 2020 90% of our purchased flowers and plants has to be produced sustainably."

"We need to work towards sustainability together in the chain in order to make a true impact." That is why the company is one of the Accelerators within the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI). "It's more convincing when everyone spreads the same message: you have to reach growers and customers." DFG is helping to create a

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transparent chain, from source to end client. "DFG follows the FSI 'Basket of Standards', but certifications are a guarantee, not an objective. In order to achieve the objective of 90% of products produced sustainably by 2020, you must have started long ago, otherwise you won't make it. I think it would make an enormous difference if Royal FloraHolland starts setting requirements for supplied products soon to increase transparency in the chain and to give us, as a chain party, insight beforehand into grower certifications related to the products. This is necessary if we want to increase sustainability."

Raimon believes that transparency and measurability will become even more important in the future. "What is the impact of the choices that you make, where are the opportunities to increase sustainability together? That is why we want to make our footprint transparent. This way, we can act and advise based on facts. We also want this transparency from our growers and suppliers. Which packaging materials are more sustainable, which crop protection products does the grower use, and to what extent and how often, what is a living wage? These are a few important questions that need to be answered. Then we can decide together how we can increase sustainability. This applies to our companies, but also to our growers and suppliers. The whole chain has to become more sustainable because there is no future without sustainability." Full article available here

2.10. States sue Trump EPA to stop its OK of toxic pesticide Seven states, led by Massachusetts, California, and New York, are suing the Trump Environmental Protection Agency to stop its regulatory OK of letting a toxic pesticide, chlorpyrifos, stay on the market. The states say EPA’s own scientists found, both in 2015 and 2016, that no level of chlorpyrifos is harmless for children, especially infants. And since it’s commonly used to spray fruits and vegetables which then get shipped all over the country, the states can’t stop exposure of their own residents to it, no matter what they do.

The lawsuit, filed August 7 in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, is the latest chapter in a long-running battle pitting environmental and labour groups – including Labour’s Coalition for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and the United Farm Workers – against Trump’s EPA over the pesticide. With the lawsuit, the states joined the fray. That coalition tried to stop former Trump EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in 2017 from issuing an order keeping chlorpyrifos on the market, even though exposure to it in the nation’s fields and farms also harms adults.

But since the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, one of the basic laws EPA helps administer, bans licensing substances harmful to kids, EPA must rule if chlorpyrifos does so. Congress set an Oct. 1, 2022, deadline for that decision. Instead, the agency illegally turned the burden of proof around, forcing the states and environmental groups to prove it is harmful, the suit says. And they didn’t, EPA claims. “EPA concluded the information presented by” the states and environmental groups “is not sufficiently valid, complete and reliable to support abandoning” the pesticide, the agency’s July 24 notice states. Then it OKd the pesticide. That turnaround in the burden of proof makes EPA’s decision

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not legitimate under federal law, the states reply in their suit. The burden of proof is on Trump’s EPA, they point out. And it flunks. Full article available here

2.11. European consumers not threatened by pesticidesThe European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its latest report on pesticide residue use in 2017 and its presence in food products estimated. The dietary risk assessment indicates that European citizens are unlikely to be exposed to harmful pesticide residue levels. Taking a look at the results, 4.1% of the 88,247 samples analysed fell outside of the legal limits. This is up from 3.8% in 2016. The product for which the highest number of cases was recorded was currants, followed by lemons. In 54.1% of the tested samples, no quantifiable residues were reported, while 41.8% contained quantified residues at or below the maximum residue levels (MRLs). For more information, visit http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/190626 Full article available here

2.12. Professor claims everything we know about carbon footprint is wrongWe’re always told “buying local” is best for the environment. However, a new book suggests food miles are a poor indicator of a product’s total carbon footprint, and could even be misleading.Bananas imported from the Dominican Republic, apples from New Zealand and oranges from Brazil are among the most carbon-friendly foods UK consumers can buy, according to Professor David Reay, a climate scientist from the University of Edinburgh.

Most oranges consumed in the UK come from Brazil and are shipped across the Atlantic, but still have low carbon footprints. This is because 60 per cent of an orange’s life-cycle footprint has been embedded in their flesh before it has left the farm gate. Most of this comes from fertilisers, pesticides and the fuel used by machinery during harvesting. They are then processed and sorted. If the orange is used to make juice, 22 per cent of the total footprint is down to transport and distribution.

Professor Reay said: “If you just assume everything closer to you is better, so if you’re thinking these blueberries or cucumber from Holland in January will be low carbon, they won’t be. It’s going to be intensive production with a high carbon footprint. “This will massively outweigh the food miles of bringing them from a country where the climate is right at that time of year.” According to government data, buying a tomato grown in the UK has three times the footprint of a tomato grown in Spain.

But food miles do matter if the product has been transported by air. A 100g box of blueberries grown locally or imported via ship will produce around 100g of carbon dioxide. If it’s flown in, that increases by ten times, pushing its carbon footprint up to more like 1kg. Full article available here

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Floral news

2.13. Special Days Calendar 2020 releasedFrom Secretaries Day to Eid al-Fitr. The Flower Council of Holland created a complete marketing calendar of important dates for the flower and plant sector. For an overview of all four core European markets, download the international file from the link below:  Special Days Calendar 2020 International Looking for suitable image material for special days? Take a look in the Image Bank. Full article available here

Health

2.14. Study shows foods with vitamin A may help protect you against sun damage, skin cancer

A new study says you may be able to fight certain types of skin cancer from the inside out. Don't skip the sunscreen just yet, but a new study in the American Medical Association's online edition of Dermatology says you might want to up a vitamin in your diet to fight cancer. It appears to put a natural sunscreen under your skin. Vitamin A found in carrots, sweet potatoes and cantaloupes, as well as many other fruits and vegetables, may work against sun damage.

Supplements didn't appear to work, according to this study, but foods did. Full article available here

2.15. Vegetable-rich Wahls diet lowers fatigue in MS-patients by raising good cholesterol

Higher levels of blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL) — or good cholesterol — may improve fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients, according to a new University at Buffalo-led study. The pilot study, which investigated the effects of fat levels in blood on fatigue caused by multiple sclerosis, found that lowering total cholesterol also reduced exhaustion.

Fatigue is a frequent and debilitating symptom for people with multiple sclerosis that affects quality of life and ability to work full time. Despite its prevalence and the severity of its impact, treatment options for fatigue are limited. The medications used to treat severe fatigue often come with unwanted side effects. The study followed 18 progressive multiple sclerosis patients over the course of a year who were placed on the Wahls diet, which is high in fruits and vegetables. The diet encourages the consumption of meat, plant protein, fish oil and B vitamins. Gluten, dairy and eggs are excluded. Full article available here

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Innovation2.16. New traceability technology can give consumers peace of mindWhile the traceability of retail items in the consumer goods industry has been in place for some time, the industry is now moving to serialised and unique identification at item level instead of only at batch level.

Edible inkjet ink or laser markings are increasingly being used on food products as part of food traceability systems, both on local and international markets. Laser markings are currently only being used on hard-skinned fruit such as melons, as well as vegetables such as gem squash, but would be introduced for soft-skin produce at a later stage. It is also possible to access a traceability solution that uses unique edible, invisible DNA barcodes that can be applied directly to perishable and non-perishable food [products] for traceability and adulteration defection applications,” . “The grain industry in the US has invested in this technology [to ensure] traceability. Full article available here

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