If a fruit or vegetable IS genetically modified (GM), the number (not the barcode number) on the fruit or vegetable's label will have 5 digits and it will start with 8.
Excerpt from a 12/25/09 Miami Herald article by Niala Boodhoo.
Lighting, flooding, freezing temperatures and even other diseases can cause something that looks like laurel wilt on avocado trees -- so don't panic if your trees turn brown and begin wilting.But, if you notice a tree wilting and turning brown and the leaves are still hanging on the tree after a week, that's a good time to contact officials so they can come out and take a sample for testing.If you suspect laurel wilt, call the Department of Plant Industry at 888-397-1517.For more information, visit www.savetheguac.com.
Here are some holiday gift ideas for the tropical at heart.* 
Caribbean Red Papaya Apron
Stay clean while cooking with this medium length 35% cotton / 65% polyester blend twill apron. Three spacious utensil pockets to hold all you need. Machine washable. 24" L x 28" W. Made in the USA. Contact blogger to order.
Brooks Tropicals Vintage T-shirt
The softest, smoothest, classic medium-weight T-shirt. 100% fine jersey cotton, combed for comfort. Flattering, stylish fit on virtually any body type. Made in the USA by American Apparel.
Papaya Bowl
Made from dried papaya, this parchment bowl is a stunning centerpiece and guaranteed conversation piece. Artisan Margaret Dorfman 
hand builds each fragile bowl out of parchment made from slices of papaya through a 12-day process that includes curing, pressing and aging each piece. Place a glass votive candle inside the bowl for a warm orange glow or fill it with fragrant potpourri. Featured in Bon Appetit magazine and on The Today Show. 
Papaya Christmas tree ornament, yet another example of how papayas have been accepted in North America.
If you're in our Homestead office, you can view the ornament on our reception area tree.
Excerpt taken from an 12/3/09 article by Patricia called Glowing Skin Tips at yogawhiz.com.
Papaya is good for the skin. Mash a slice of papaya and apply it on your face for 15 to 20 minutes. Papaya contains the enzyme papain that accelerates skin renewal and cell turnover. It is used in skin lightening products because of its exfoliating and skin lightening properties.
Consuming fresh papaya is also beneficial for your skin as it contains vitamins A, E, and C, and other anti-oxidants which provide essential moisture and protection that your skin needs.
This year's featured RCMA artist is Rocio Santiago, a 4th grader at RCMA's Wimauma Academy. Her favorite subject is math, and she loves to ride her bike. Rocio wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
Ms. Santiago drew a fetching wreath of papayas which will be featured in our company holiday cards and in trade publication advertising as shown below.
Every year the Redlands Christian Migrant Assocation (RCMA) raises money by selling Christmas cards that feature the artwork of the children they work with.
For the past five years, Brooks Tropicals has taken the fundraising one step further by taking the artwork for the 
company's holiday card and using it in our ads in The Packer and The Produce News.
We hope that by featuring RCMA artists like Ms. Santiago in our advertising, more people in the produce industry will be made aware of the good work that RCMA does in South Florida.
It's not too late to order your own RCMA holiday cards. Click here to see the brochure.
What to do with all those papaya seeds, here's a salad dressing recipe from eatthis.com.
Papaya Seed Salad Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep up to two weeks in the fridge.
The great NYC papaya purge of fast food restaurants with papaya in their name but not on their menu is occurring with Clinton Papaya, Papaya del Barrio, and Papaya Dog closing their doors. Papaya King and others with the "papaya" name still report good sales.
Excerpts from an article posted 11/23/09 on herbalpills.com by Kyle J. Norton
These foods help prevent enlarged prostate, prostate cancer and other forms of cancer and heart diseases:
Cold water fish
Excerpts from the 11/23/90 Tucson Sun article by Exercise physiologist Karen Nelson.
Why stop at eating papaya and starfruit, when the fruit makes for eye catching jewelry. Those are real slices of starfruit on the bracelet and those round disks on the earrings are papayas (beets on the larger disks).
Thanks to Nakita for these finds.
When one of our customers - Stephanie B. from North Carolina- said she uses our Groovy Coconuts for her Green Coconut Cake, I had to have the recipe.
Green Coconut Cake
- yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients required as per mix)
-3 Groovy Coconuts
- sugar or splenda (optional)
7 minute icing
- 2 egg whites unbeaten
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 tspn light corn syrup
- salt
- 1 tspn vanilla
- miniature marshmallows (optional)
Seven minute icing
Excerpts from an article in the 11/10/09 The Packer By Andy Nelson
A new study has found additional disease-fighting chemicals in avocados.
In research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles identified four additional carotenoids in avocados.
Carotenoids are phytonutrients, chemical compounds that are thought to help prevent many chronic diseases.
The UCLA researchers found them in the dark green fresh of the avocado closest to the peel.
Tests for the study, which was funded by the commission, were conducted on fruit grown in California.
Cookbooks for kids have come along way from last century's Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook for Children.
In the kids' cookbook, Friday Night Bites: Kick Off the Weekend with Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family by Karen Berman (Running Press, 2009), you cook dinner and do a craft activity at the same time.
One dinner theme is Dinner on the Moon, in which participants create a centerpiece that shows the phases of the moon, and include "distant star salad" (made with starfruit). Recipes come with a short astronomy lesson.
Trick or Treaters knocking at the White House door received packets of dried fruit containing cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papaya.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS JOIN FORCES TO PROMOTE LOCAL PRODUCE
Redland Raised is an instore program that promotes the consumption of fresh local produce. Publix will be the first to grocery store to kick-off the program.
The program's announcement took place at the Publix located at 7805 SW 40th Street, on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Local celebrities included Mayor Carlos Avarez. Locally grown produce including green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, boniato, okra and avocados were on display.
Redland Raised was created by Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
“Pairing Publix with our locally-grown produce makes great sense,” said Mayor Carlos Alvarez. “We can educate and encourage our residents to invest in local produce and in turn, stimulate the economy in our County.”
“While we have always been committed to supporting fresh locally grown produce when available, we are excited to help introduce this new produce brand which will allow us to better inform our customers on the benefits of buying local,” said Kim Jaeger, Media and Community Relations Manager for Publix in Miami.
Miami-Dade County’s agriculture industry is number two in the state and 18th in the country, generating an estimated $2.7 billion for the local economy.
Daily Spark article by Tanya Jolliffe
In a Daily Spark article by Tanya Jolliffe, she suggests there are specific foods that help get you back on your feet after a cold and flu. Here's the excerpt about papayas.
Christopher Columbus called papaya the "fruit of the angels" because he found the great benefit of this special fruit especially during the winter. Rich in vitamins C, A, K, and E as well as magnesium, folate, beta-carotene and lutein, papaya has been found to help inactivate a variety of viruses so the body can flush them away.
Excerpts from an article in the 9/7/09 The Packer by Abraham Mahsie
This fall, tropical suppliers are betting papayas will garner some of the same interest and popularity that mangoes have.
Increased volumes of two varieties...offer great taste and nutritional value to households where papayas are fast gaining recognition.
"More than taste, you are covering different demands in terms of convenience, " said Jose Rossignoli, vice president of sales and marketing for Brooks Tropicals, LLC.
"That applies to the Hawaiian or sunrise papayas and the Caribbean Red or maridol papaya," he said.
"When you are selling a large papaya, you are probably selling a piece of fruit that is going to average 3-4 pounds. When you are selling a sunrise papaya, you are selling a fruit that is just one pound. Cut it in half, remove the seeds, and eat it from the skin."
In terms of taste, he said the sunrise is a little bit sweeter than the Caribbean Red.Yesterday the Homestead crowd had a baby shower for Brittany Morrow, Human Resources. Brittany is expecting a boy in two months.
Our friends over at the Fruit & Spice Park proudly announces the opening of the MANGO CAFÉ
Hours of operation: 11:30 am to 4:30 pm
Open 7 days a week except Christmas Day.
Café specialties include: Florida Lobster Roll, Shrimp Tacos, Grilled Chicken & Bacon Quesadillas, Cuban Sandwich Panini Style, BBQ Pulled Pork. Assorted wraps, sandwiches, specialty Pizza’s, unique desserts and beverages.
Excerpts from an 8/27/09 article in the Alanet News by Christine Delsol
Nobody gives the Maya is credit for their agricultural wizardry. When the Spanish carried Mayan food back to Europe and to the Caribbean, Asia and Africa, it changed the world’s eating habits. Here are ten Mayan foods it would be hard to live without:
1. Avocado (aguacate)
From its Mayan origins in southern Mexico, it was prized as an aphrodisiac ( later the Aztecs would keep their daughters indoors during harvest season). In the 19th century, growers had to mount a PR campaign to persuade the public that eating avocados did not equate to licentiousness.
2. Papaya
The papaya originated in the tropics of southern Mexico and Central America. After the Spanish carried seeds to Panama and the Dominican Republic, cultivation spread throughout South and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Pacific Islands, India and parts of Africa. It has became naturalized in many areas and still grows wild along Mexican roadsides.
3. Squash (calabaza, calabacita)
Squash predates corn and beans by several thousand years; Maya people domesticated several varieties of squash as early as 8000 B.C. Oils from these seeds were the main source of dietary fat before the Spanish introduced beef and pork.
Others Mayan additions to our eating include:
4. Chocolate
5. Vanilla
6. Corn
7. Chiles
8. Tomatoes
9. Black beans
10. Sweet potato
Excerpts from an article by ARA in the Creston Iowa News
Parents, let's face it -- the average child will never really fall in love with Brussels sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower. But few kids object to fruit, making it easier to help children tap into its wealth of health benefits.
Fruit fights childhood obesity, according to studies by Tufts and Baylor universities that linked high fruit and vegetable consumption by children with a lower body mass index.
Fruit is naturally low in calories but high in nutrients like immune system boosting vitamin C, water and fiber, which helps children feel fuller and more energized with fewer calories. Federal dietary guidelines recommend five servings of fruit per day.
Here are two tips to help keep fruit exciting and easy for you and your children:
Article in the 8/17/09 The Packer / Fall Avocado Marketing Section by Jim Offner.
Jose Rossignoli is vice president of sales and marketing for Brooks Tropicals, LLC., Homestead, Fla. In his position, he leads Brooks Tropicals' sales efforts, building sale programs with retailers and wholesalers in delivering SlimCado avocados, Caribbean Red and Caribbean Sunrise papayas to the North American market.
Rossignoli recently served as director, then vice president of national sales for the firm. After graduating with a master of agribusiness from the University of Florida, Rossignoli started at Brooks Tropicals, assisting Pal Brooks on various projects.
Rossignoli and his wife, Kelly, live in Miramar, Fla.
Q: How important are avocados in the Brooks portfolio compared to recent years, given the increase in popularity of the fruit?
A: Brooks Tropicals started over 80 years ago with Florida avocados. Although, nowadays our Caribbean Red and Caribbean sunrise papayas have risen to the top of our portfolio's forefront, green-skinned Florida avocados remain as our second core commodity and will always be a top priority for us.
Q: What's the best way to market the nutritional value of avocados? How can Brooks Tropicals stand out in this area?
A: In the past year, avocados have made great nutritional strides with experts highlighting the fact that avocados have "good" fat, or monounsaturated fat. SlimCado avocados benefit even more because good fat is still best eaten in moderation (70 calories a day). With SlimCado avocados 70 calories doubles the amount of avocado that can be enjoyed.
Q: Green-skinned avocados have, frankly, fallen behind the hass variety in many regions. How can they make up ground?
A: We're different. Florida green-skinned avocados are a specialty item with great market recognition and demand. We don't compete with the hass variety but complement the grocer's avocado offerings with a lower-fat, lower-calorie avocado that appeals way beyond Hispanic markets to the health conscious, calorie-counting consumer.
Q: Are there any new marketing venues out there for avocados, in terms of educating consumers about the product, highlighting the product's quality and building consumers' desire to buy it regularly?
A: I think the Internet and specifically social media have opened the gates of publicity on a far more personal level. Recipes on blogs, photos on Flickr - we've even answered questions Twittered from grocery stores about SlimCado. Mass media continues to provide additional recognition - it's always exciting to have your brand mentioned during prime time show as it occurred in ABC's Brothers and Sisters.
Q: How are you best-suited to market avocados? What are your personal strengths that you bring to this job?
A: Brooks Tropicals has two main sets of competitive advantages when it comes to avocados. First, our vertically integrated program, from planting to shipping, ensures a high-quality product. And second, Brooks maintains over half of the retail market share, which gives an advantage in regards to advance planning and merchandising.
When I first joined Brooks, my functions were operations-focused - among them, the analysis and forecasting of production and harvesting. This analytical background serves me well in working with my customers to build customized retail programs to meet their needs.
Q: There's certainly a business dynamic between Florida avocado producers and their colleagues in California, Mexico and Chile. How would you describe it? Are they rivals? Colleagues? How well do they work together for the betterment of the entire avocado category? Or is that not a priority?
A: Certainly, there can be cross-elasticity in certain markets, but generally speaking we don't compete, we complement. Consumers are eating more avocados and expanding what dishes they use them in. It's great to give the consumer a choice, choosing perhaps hass for a party dip and SlimCados to slice up in a salad.
Think of how many papaya seeds you've thrown out. Turns out you're throwing out 'caviar'.
Kudos to Julie at Julie's Raw Ambition for the recipe, photo, and for creating the longest name for an appetizer 'papaya caviar coconut creme fraiche on cucumber blinis'.
Kidding aside, her blog post has some interesting information on papaya seeds along with the recipe.
Although this should come as no surprise to us, I thought the numbers were interesting. Excerpts from an article on Care2.com written by Melissa Breyer.
Americans are consuming more imported fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen and canned produce, and fruit juice. Over the past 15 years Americans’ consumption of imported fresh fruits and vegetables has doubled.
Food & Water Watch studied fifty common fruit and vegetable products and found that:
Teavana®, the manufacturer of Fruta Bomba tea, has announced the winners of their "Tea Master's Challenge" contest.
This tea blending contest challenged Teavana customers "to use creativity and their love of tea to make a new taste sensation using from up to 4 Teavana teas, sugar or honey." There were six winners from over 2,300 submissions.
Obama Bahama by James Defilippis was one of the winners. The tea is a blend of Fruta Bomba, Imperial Açaà Blueberry, Strawberry Kiwi, and Caribbean Breeze teas. The tea is described as a combination of green, white and herbal teas that is rich in antioxidants & vitamin C and is reputed to help ease the signs of aging and regulate blood sugar levels. With the flavors of the tropics - this tea is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
It's not so common to see a personal blog talk about the Caribbean Red papaya. Other than the blogger incorrectly assuming that Caribbean Red papayas are Mexican papayas, the blog post is interesting and quite factual with a number of followers. I'm posting just the first couple of paragraphs, I suggest reading the comments to the blog post. The comments are from consumers who have tried papayas or are thinking of trying papayas. The blogger is from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Papayas 101
Published August 18, 2009 by cheryl
You put the lime in the papaya and drink ‘em both up…*
One of our big delights in summer and fall are the huge “Caribbean Red” or “Mexican” papayas. We usually buy them at Costco, but you’ll sometimes find them in the grocery stores as well.
Most people, if they’re familiar with papayas at all, are more familiar with the smaller Hawaiian papayas that are a little bigger than a pear. This variety is much larger – this one’s about 10″ long:
I’ve found that most people I’ve talked to have rarely, if ever, had papaya. And even those that have, don’t really know much about them or how to know when they’re ready to eat. They’re truly missing out on the fruit that Christopher Columbus supposedly called “the fruit of the angels”. So let’s have a quick lesson in papayas, OK?
Excerpts from an article called Unique Choices for Fruitful Diet on Natural Home Remedies.com.
Papaya – Regular consumption of papaya endows with liberal discharge of papain enzyme in body. Papain enzymes are acknowledged as one of the most efficient enzymes that are capable to break proteins and natural source to enhance immune system which further helps in reduced chances of inflammatory diseases.
An increased intake of papaya assists in coping with deficiencies of potassium, folate and vitamin C. it is also a very popular food among diet conscious people owing to the petite quantity of calorie present i.e. half papaya comprises only fifty nine calories.
Star Fruit – Daily consumption of this Asian fruit helps in prevention from development of cardiac ailments. Since ages, star fruit had been used to reduce inflammations of cardiovascular system owing to ample quantities of polypheonols antioxidant obtained through consumption. A person experiencing deficiency of vitamin A, dietary fiber or potassium should increasingly consume star fruit several times during a day. Like papaya, star fruit also contains petite quantity of calories.
Uniq Fruit – The usage of ugli fruit is very popular in Jamaican home remedies for common cold and flu. Consuming this fruit at least three times a day helps to boost immune system and discharges liberal quantities of vitamin C and carotenoids in body. The calorie content of this fruit is only forty five. It is recommended for persons experiencing frequent attacks of cold or nasal congestion to eat ugli fruit regularly for at least one month for permanent relief.
Guava – Guava is a seasonal fruit. Inclusion of guava in an all-fruit diet extraordinarily strengthens the immune system and fulfills almost seventy percent of body’s daily vitamin C and requirement. An increased intake of guava fruit also helps in confining the production of LDL cholesterol and free radicals in body. Individuals with impaired or blurred vision should also consume guava fruit to defuse free radicals present in retinal portion of eye
Excerpts from an Associated Press article by Michele Kayal posted 8/13/09
Avocado Fries are warm, tasty and a more unusual use for your avocados ready for eating. Recipe to follow.
And while nearly 500 varieties of avocados are grown around the world, Americans tend to favor just a few, mostly Hass or Hass-like varieties.
But if you grew up in a tropical climate, you might prefer what are called "green-skinned" avocados, varieties such as Simmonds or Monroe or any of the dozens of other varieties coming from Florida.
These avocados have a smooth skin that remains green when ripe, and they can weigh up to 3 pounds. Green-skinned avocados also have less fat and more moisture than Hass, giving them a milder flavor and a lighter, less unctuous texture.
These qualities make them well suited to sweet preparations, such as the ice cream favored by Brazilians or milk shakes enjoyed in the Philippines.
"Hispanics love to chop them into cubes and put them on top of a creamy tomato soup or squash soup," says Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Brooks Tropicals, a grower and the largest shipper of Florida avocados.
The company promotes its avocados as "SlimCados," a "lite" fruit, with fewer calories and less fat than avocados from California.
To tell when avocados are ripe, give them a little squeeze. They should yield to slight pressure, but not be mushy. Unripe avocados should be stored at room temperature, then moved to the refrigerator when ripe. They will keep there for two to three days.
And while you can spend $10 on an avocado slicer, it's just as easy to run a knife around the fruit lengthwise, then twist it slightly to separate the halves. Remove the pit with a spoon.
Pureed avocados hold up well in the freezer. The California Avocado Commission recommends adding a tablespoon of lemon juice for each two pureed avocados.
AVOCADO FRIES
Canola oil, for frying
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese-style) breadcrumbs
2 firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
Heat the oven to 200 degrees.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high, heat 1 1/2 inches of oil until it reaches 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer.
Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl whisk together the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Place the eggs in a second shallow bowl, and the panko in a third.
One wedge at a time, dredge the avocados through the flour, shaking off any excess, then through the egg and finally through the panko. Set the wedges aside in a single layer.
A quarter of the avocado wedges at a time, fry until deep golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer the wedges to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Transfer the drained fries to an oven-safe plate and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining wedges. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Serves 6.
---- Recipe from the April 2009 issue of Sunset magazine
Excerpts from The Packer's special section: Fall Avocado Marketing
Published on 08/13/2009 By Jim Offner
The recession may have cut into restaurant receipts, automobile purchases and that new home, but it hasn’t affected avocado sales, marketers said.
“For awhile, there was a false idea that fresh fruits and vegetables might be more expensive, but I think people came to realize just the opposite,” said Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals Inc.
“Fresh fruits and vegetables provide more nutrition, dollar for dollar, than any other item in the grocery store.”
Excerpt from a SunSentinel article of 8/13/09.
Which is worse: eating nonorganic produce full of pesticides or not eating produce at all?
Research demonstrates substantial health benefits from eating fruits and vegetables. Although I wish we had more definitive research, these benefits appear to greatly outweigh any risks of pesticides.
If you want to compromise, you can save your organic dollars for the foods most likely to be high in pesticides. These, according to the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org), are peaches, nectarines, apples, bell peppers, strawberries, cherries, pears, raspberries, imported grapes, celery, potatoes and spinach.In contrast, foods that you peel — onions, peas, bananas, sweet corn and tropical fruits, for example — tend to be low in pesticides.
When I get asked why we promote the SlimCado as having less fat when 'everyone knows avocados have the good fat,' I point to an earlier blog entry that has doctors recommending only 70 calories a day of good fat. Then I add, with SlimCados you can eat a lot more avocado for 70 calories.
Despite the logic, I get the vibe that I'm not fully answering the question. So there's more to why we Americans cheerfully down vats of guacamole without a care. It's why this article by by Brett Blumenthal helps fill the void where my answer seems to stop short.
We often eat foods that are determined to have ‘health benefits’ past moderation, in turn, making them ‘not so healthy.’ Take dark chocolate for instance. It has become pretty well know that dark chocolate contains antioxidants which are great for warding off ‘free-radicals’. I imagine that for a lot of people, the logic then goes something like this: “Great! So this must mean I should eat dark chocolate often and in large quantities to ensure that I stay young and beautiful.” In reality, if we all did this, we would have even a larger obesity epidemic on our hands than we already do. The truth is that we should indulge in these foods, but still maintain ‘in moderation’ as our standard for portions and frequency.
Look, a fat is a fat. It doesn’t matter if it is a ‘good fat’ or a ‘bad fat’, it is still a fat. And, a healthy diet should only incorporate 20% – 30% of fat, whether good or bad. Granted, when you are eating fats, eating those that are ‘good’ is by far more healthy than eating those that are ‘bad.’ You should avoid those that are ‘bad.’ But just because it is good doesn’t mean that you should look at them as a staple of your diet.
Excerpts from a 8/10/09 article by Doug Ohlemeier
Teavana, a chain of stores that sells tea, sells a tea called Fruta Bomba.
Excerpts from an article published on 07/30/2009 by Doug Ohlemeier
Scientists have found a south Florida commercial avocado tree infected with a disease known to kill avocado trees.This is the first case of the laurel wilt fungus discovered inside south Florida’s avocado growing region.
The laurel wilt disease — spread by the red bay ambrosia beetle — threatens Florida's avocado trees. Officials confirmed a positive discovery of the red bay ambrosia beetle in the northern part of the growing area in a southern Miami-Dade County grove on July 28.
The tiny beetle spreads the disease, which can destroy half the state’s avocado crop.
Previously, the it had been detected in Okeechobee and Martin counties, north and west of Palm Beach County.
“We are a little surprised that it has appeared to leap this far south,” said Jonathan Crane, a tropicals fruit crops extension research specialist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Fla.
“Our researchers here are in hyperdrive and are working closely with industry, scientists and others to try to get a handle on this as quickly as possible,” Crane said.
Researchers are collecting samples from other groves and are awaiting for the beetles to emerge from the positive find, Crane said.
Craig Wheeling, chief executive officer of Homestead-based Brooks Tropicals Inc., said he’s encouraged by the $2.5 million in state and federal research funding the industry has been able to secure less than two years after the disease was first detected in the Carolinas.
“We as an industry have really stepped up the efforts,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done now. We don’t know much about the life cycle of the bug.”
Leaders of the Miami-Dade Co. Farm Bureau and Extension service scheduled an Aug. 5 emergency meeting where researchers and others plan to recommend control steps to growers, handlers, packers and shippers.
More information on the disease can be found at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Web site.With 7,500 acres, Florida’s $30 million crop represents the country’s second-largest avocado-producing state.
Excerpts from an article published on 7/27/09 by Amy Fischback
Some consumers have shied away from avocados because of the fruit's perceived fat content, but some Florida specialty growers are working to change that misconception.
With researchers finding that avocados have monounsaturated, or "good," fat, avocados can actually raise levels of "good" cholesterol and protect arteries.
Brooks Tropicals, Homestead, Fla., is also working to promote the nutrition of avocados by labeling them as "SlimCados," said Bill Brindle, vice president of sales.
"Being able to label Florida avocados as SlimCados helps stores position this avocado in the produce aisle," he said. "In an instant, the SlimCado brand tells the customer that this avocado is a healthy choice."
As you shop Publix Supermarkets this week, check out the store's weekly flyer. Brooks Tropicals' Caribbean Red papayas and SlimCado avocados are featured. I should add that our logo is featured also.
A few blog posts claimed that starfruit could be dangerous for people with kidney problems. Rumor or fact? I finally got an expert's answer, Dr Andrew Weil, MD. These are excerpts from an article published 7/21/2009 written by him.
If you have no kidney problems, you can eat all the star fruit you want - it has no effect on healthy kidneys.
But if your kidney function is impaired, eating star fruit can be very dangerous, even deadly. Symptoms of "star fruit intoxication" include persistent hiccups, nausea, vomiting, agitation, insomnia, mental confusion and convulsions that occur within one to five hours of eating the fruit.
The problem seems to be the high levels of oxalic acid (or oxalate) in this fruit that can accumulate in weakened kidneys. But since kidney patients don't seem to have problems eating other oxalate-rich foods (such as spinach), Brazilian researchers who have been studying the reaction suggest that another, unidentified substance toxic to nerves is the real culprit. Whatever this toxin may be, people with healthy kidneys have no problem excreting it while those with impaired kidney function run into trouble with the combination of the unknown toxin and oxalate.
Excerpt from a Chicago Tribune article written by Julie Deardorff.
Avocados have good, unsatiurated fats which help with growth and development of the central nervous system and the brain. they're packed with nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
Avocados play well with others: when you eat an avocado, it helps the body absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene, as well as lutein, from other foods.
Excerpt from a 7/12/09 examiner.com article by Timothy Jackson
DO mix avocado and tomato: Tomatoes, which contain the antioxidant lycopene, are a superfood. If you eat some avocado at the same time, you've just made it even more super. The fat in the avocado helps the body absorb seven times more lycopene.
Excerpts from a Miami Herald article by Kathleen Purvis
Lime and lemons can be used interchangeably in recipes. Besides a slightly different taste, there are few instances where it will matter. Limes are a bit more floral, even if the lemon juice is acting as a thickener, such as in a lemon curd or lemon pie, the lime juice should still have enough acidity to do the job.
One instance in which you cannot swap is when you are canning tomatoes in a boiling-water canner. Recipes for canning tomatoes call for commercial, not fresh, lemon juice because the percentage of acidity in fresh fruit can vary widely, from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. (It depends on how old the fruit is, the season when it was picked and even how rainy it was.)
You need a dependable level of acidity to make tomatoes safe for canning, so you should always use bottled lemon juice if the recipe calls for it. And you certainly shouldn't swap in lime juice.
I've been waiting for the clouds to clear to take some shots of the avocado harvest. The other day I finally got some blue sky.
