Tuesday, July 24, 2007
New Low-Sugar Watermelon Varieties
The Agricultural Research Service, part of the US Department of Agriculture, has developed two new varieties of watermelon that have less than half the sugar of conventional varieties. The researcher, Angela Davis, is "currently sharing the new watermelon stock with interested growers," which I'm guessing means that you shouldn't be looking for them this summer. It will take time to create enough for commercial seed stock and then for growers to actually have them in stores.
The sugary taste we associate with watermelon is apparently a recent development. Companies have bred the fruit (OK, technically a berry) to be ever sweet. Heirloom varieties actually have about 25 percent less sugar than contemporary types. They had some difficulty getting a real red color, as that often goes hand in hand with sugar, but apparently they've conquered that barrier. And they also have a variety part way between the usual types and this more astringent version.
The sugary taste we associate with watermelon is apparently a recent development. Companies have bred the fruit (OK, technically a berry) to be ever sweet. Heirloom varieties actually have about 25 percent less sugar than contemporary types. They had some difficulty getting a real red color, as that often goes hand in hand with sugar, but apparently they've conquered that barrier. And they also have a variety part way between the usual types and this more astringent version.
Labels: agricultural research service, agriculture, ARS, sugar, USDA, watermelon
Monday, June 11, 2007
Dept. of Ag to Approve More Non-Organic in Organic Foods
An article in the New York Times says that the US Department of Agriculture is ready to add more inorganic ingredients that can go into food sporting the department's organic seal. Under the current rules, at least 95 percent of something labeled organic must actually be organic. The rest must be something where an organic substitute isn't commercially available. Apparently this includes such items as hops for beer, dill weed oil, and elderberry juice. What I'm left wondering is whether there is absolutely no organic substitute, or if a company only has to say that it can't get it commercially. And if that's the case, would the inability to get the wanted ingredient at a given economic price be considered unavailable? And just how serious are "organic" companies?
John Foraker, chief executive of Annie’s Homegrown, argued that nonorganic annatto was a crucial ingredient in the company’s macaroni and cheese. “Organic annatto is not readily available and does not deliver the same cheese color,” he said in a May 14 letter to the Agriculture Department. “Making orange colored macaroni and cheese is an important element of our offering. Without annatto, our macaroni-and-cheese products would be white.”I can remember my wife and I feeding this to our kids to get away from the more commercial varieties. But the color is artificial? It just seems wrong that organic is the same processed crap as non-organic. Oh, and then the public was given only a week for the public to express its opinion, even though food companies had two years to request ingredients to be put on the list. Maybe organic will have to go out the window and making things from scratch will be the only reasonable option for those interested in what they're really eating, and not what a label claims.
Labels: agriculture, Annie's, ingredients, organic
