http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=13-007

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will be hosting two listening sessions on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Proposed Fresh Produce and Preventive Control Rules. The Proposed Fresh Produce Rule will be presented on Tuesday, April 9 in Tulare, CA and both the Proposed Fresh Produce and Preventive Control Rules will be presented on Thursday, April 11 in Woodland, CA. The listening sessions are sponsored by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF); California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF); Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF); and Western Growers Association (WGA).

The listening sessions are scheduled as follows:

April 9 – Proposed Fresh Produce Rule from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the International Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina Street, Tulare, CA 93274.

April 11 – Proposed Fresh Produce Rule from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., and Proposed Preventive Controls Rule from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Heidrick Ag History Center, 1962 Hays Lane, Woodland, CA 95776.

The FDA FSMA was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. It aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to incidents to preventing them. On January 4, 2013, FDA issued two major proposed FSMA rules regarding preventive controls in human food and produce safety. The California Department of Food and Agriculture will be hosting public listening sessions in California concerning the two proposed rules. The purpose of the listening sessions will be to provide industry an overview of the proposed rules, solicit comments, respond to questions, and inform the public about the rulemaking process.

Invited speakers include: Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods & Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Dr. Jeff Farrar, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs & Partnerships, Office of Foods & Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Barbara Cassens, ‪Senior Advisor/Acting Director, Office of Partnerships, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Sandra Schubert, Undersecretary, CDFA; James R. Gorny, Ph.D. Senior Advisor for Produce Safety, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, U.S. Food & Drug Administration; Rick S. Jensen, Director, Division of Inspection Services, CDFA; and, Patrick Kennelly, Chief, Food Safety Section, California Department of Public Health.

For more information about the FSMA listening sessions, including agenda and registration, visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/fsma.html. Due to limited space you must pre-register; there is no cost for registration.

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is Love on the Vine, a story about a family that started as farmworkers and now owns and operates a Napa Valley winery.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/05/3200415/fresno-food-expo-showcases-new.html

A fiery but flavorful peanut hot sauce, raspberry-flavored sangria and finger-shaped limes are among the more than 50 new products being showcased at this year’s Fresno Food Expo.

The Expo will be held March 14 at the Fresno Convention Center and is the only food trade show focusing solely on San Joaquin Valley producers. Last year, the event attracted nearly 100 of the Valley’s best food makers and more than 400 buyers from major retailers to restaurant owners.

The public is also invited to an evening event, where you can sample the best of what the Valley’s specialty food makers have to offer. And this year, participants can vote for their favorite new products.

The winner of the People’s Choice awards will be announced March 14. Voting can be done on Facebook — www.Facebook.com/FresnoFoodExpo — or by visiting the expo’s website: www.FresnoFoodExpo.com.

A panel of food industry judges also will select an “Industry Award” winner.

During a recent food tasting preview, the media and food industry officials got a sneak peek at the 55 new products.

Among the new products …

 — Abel Arellano’s Fresno-based Mexican hot peanut sauce, called Sayula, packs a real punch. The well-balanced and flavorful sauce gets its intense and lasting heat from the small but potent chile de arbol. The light-colored sauce pairs well with salty snack foods or goes well in soups, sauces and with eggs.

— Not far behind on the heat index is a line of spicy raisins from Raisin Valley Farms in Kerman. The raisins come coated in spicy chocolate and chile powder and lime. Be prepared for a slow burning sensation in your mouth.

— Three Tulare and Kings counties dairy operators — Rosa Brothers Milk Co., Top O’ The Morn Farms and Dairy Goddess — will have milk and cheese to taste. The Dairy Goddess (Barbara Martin) produces a non-homogenized milk that has a clean, refreshing taste. And she has added new flavors of her soft, spreadable cheese: a bacon and ranch dressing flavor and a sweet flavor, mixing white chocolate, pistachios and cranberry.

— Vincent Ricchiuti, director of operations for Clovis-based P-R Farms, the makers of Enzo Oil, has introduced several products of their organic extra virgin olive oil, including infused basil, garlic and Meyer lemon. The lemon-infused oil has a smooth taste that works well as a salad dressing or brushed on grilled fish.

— The chipotle beer-battered cheese curds from Traver-based Vintage Cheese Co. are similar to mozzarella sticks, but are shorter and much more flavorful. Cheese curds are byproducts of the cheese-making process, and the folks at Vintage have lightly battered them in chipotle, sage and white cheddar flavors that don’t overpower the cheese.

— Finger limes are bizarre little fruits that are shaped like fingers, then reveal tiny green balls when snapped open. The tangy “citrus caviar” is extremely versatile, and may be added to vanilla ice cream or salads, used to top sushi or swirled into Champagne and cocktails. Visalia-area Phillips Farms sells them online and exports them to Europe.

— The Seriously Hot Headed Dutchman cheese is a Gouda with an explosive smoky flavor that isn’t overly hot. Created by 9th Street Cheese, it’s rubbed with a local olive oil and roasted peppers. The cheese, along with the milder Hot Headed Dutchman, is new and sold only at 9th Street Cheese’s store in Fowler.

— P*DE*Q, the Fresno maker of little balls of tapioca cheese bread, has introduced its fifth flavor: bacon. It’s crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and packed with decent-sized hunks of warm bacon. The gluten-free bread is meant to be a snack and/or a breakfast item.

— The True Temptation Raspberry Romance sangria was recently created by the San Joaquin Wine Co. in Madera. It’s a blend of three red wines infused with a raspberry concentrate. You can drink it alone, or combined with Champagne, lemon-lime or club soda to create a cocktail.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/sessions-123723-yuba-dating.html

Hollywood helped inspire the Marysville event that brought agricultural buyers and sellers together Monday at Yuba-Sutter Ag Speed Dating for what was termed “cross pollination.”

That is what happens when pollen from a different plant is delivered to a flower. Debra Lucero, chief executive officer of the Butte County Economic Development Corp., said the five-minute sessions are meant to produce successful new business connections.

Lucero traced ag speed dating origins to her learning how television script writers would have two-minute sessions with producers to try and sell their stories.

“I thought this could work with agriculture,” she said.

It has been in Butte County for the past three years, and the event held by the Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corp. and Upstate California at the Yuba County Government Center produced results, said Brynda Stranix, president of the Yuba-Sutter development corporation.

People attending the event made 13 onsite deals and 99 new business connections, Stranix said.

Sabrina Boggs, store manager at the Farmer’s Marketplace in Marysville on Covillaud Street, welcomes the event and the opportunity it provides to meet growers.

“This is a big advantage,” she said. “This is huge.”

Thomas Rice, owner of Rice River Ranch in Arboga which grows peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and prunes, spoke with Boggs during one of the sessions and said the program benefits agriculture by bringing motivated buyers and sellers together.

Jim Muck of Jim’s Produce in Wheatland said he learned during the sessions what buyers want.

“The challenge now is to make sure I can grow what they want,” he said, “at a price I can make a profit.”

Eve Stefani of Filaki Farms, an organic family farm in Oregon House, found the sessions productive.

“I feel like we’re making some connections,” she said.

The sessions sometimes bring together people who have done business before, but hadn’t had the chance to meet in person, said Desta Bechtol, office manager for Wil-Ker-Son Ranch in Gridley.

“It’s nice to put a face with a label,” she said.

John Fleming, economic development coordinator for Yuba County, said Ag Speed Dating compresses sales efforts that can involve stopping by businesses to talk with buyers. “This is the quickest and easiest method,” he said.

Lucero said at the event’s start that the desire for productive get-togethers helped spur speed dating. She had been to enough ag-related meetings that she thought more could come out of them.

“I’m kind of tired of (those) meetings,” she recalled concluding. “Can we do something when we meet?”

The latest segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is Citrus Scourge, a story about the Asian citrus psyllid, the disease it spreads, huanglongbing, or citrus greening, and CDFA’s response to the threat.

“Weights & Measures may be ranked among the necessaries of life to every individual of human society.” 

-John Quincy Adams, sixth US president.

In celebrating National Weights and Measures Week (March 1-7), we are recognizing a U.S. system of weights and measures that was established almost at the very start of our country, in 1799.  When California became a state in 1850, one of the primary orders of business was to establish weights and measures laws to ensure fair trade among its citizens.  In the early years, responsibility for enforcement shifted back and forth between counties and the state, with the risk of a lack of uniformity, which is essential as the foundation for weights and measures. This continued until 1911, when, to protect the public and commerce, the Constitution of California was amended to adopt comprehensive weights and measures laws.  In 1913, the State Legislature created the Office of State Superintendent of Weights and Measures to oversee the laws – and now, it is the 100th anniversary of this arrangement. The California system today is reliable because of the oversight provided by the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Division of Measurement Standards (DMS), working in partnership with county sealers of weights and measures.

Every day, Californians buy fuel for their cars, food for their family, or pay to park their cars.  All of these transactions involve measurements of some type, and it’s critical that they be accurate. There are a total of 1.4 million devices in California that are used in commerce.  Employees of DMS and the counties make sure the devices work correctly. They also check that prices charged are the same as advertised and that packages actually contain the stated amount of product.  This verification protects the integrity of commerce, which is required for trading worldwide.

The state’s oversight of weights and measures costs the average California family about a penny per day, or about $3.65 per year.  This “common cents” is affordable insurance to make sure everyone gets what they pay for.