Produce News for May 14, 2007
LONG PROMO: This is Saint Cristobo. It’s overlooking the capitol city of Chile. Santiago. I’ve come to Chile to look at the miracles of Chile. The miracles of their economy. The miracles of their people. The miracles of their geology. And most important for me, the miracles of their produce. So explore with me, produce from Chile…all next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
SHORT PROMO: Heh, join me next week. We’re exploring Chile…the miracle of their produce…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
CHILE I, GEOLOGY (Monday, May 14): Heh, in the winter time and spring time, a lot of our summer and fall fruit comes from the Southern Hemisphere, from Chile. Heh, it’s winter here. It’s summer down there. Let’s go all the way down to Chile on the map. I call Chile an island on a continent. And here’s the reason why. They have four geographic boundaries that are really interesting. In the northern part of Chile, you have the hottest and driest desert on the face of the planet. That’s right. The Atacama Desert. And insects, and plant diseases cannot cross this hot, dry desert. Now, if you go down south, what do you find down south? Yeah, Glaciers. The Antarctic is down south. It’s too cold down there so insects and diseases can’t get by that boundary. Now, to the eastern border of Chile…yeah, 21,000 feet high, the Andes Mountains. Again, pesky insects can’t fly over those mountains. And to the west, the vast Pacific Ocean. Do you have these four geographic boundaries, making it a geographic island. That means plant diseases and insects, very few in the country of Chile. In fact, there are some plant diseases that growers in Chile have never seen. What does this all mean. Fewer pesticides. I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite) Mmmm.
TEASE: Heh, in my next Produce Man report, the country of Chile is actually “an island.”
CHILE II OLD WORLD MARKET (Tuesday, May 15): I’m in an old world market here in Santiago, Chile. It’s not very far from the Presidential Palace. But here, this is what most people think of when they think of foreign grown produce. Old world, third world. You know, the diversity of Chile is the diversity of their people. The diversity of their crops. The diversity of their terrain, and the diversity of their climate. This diversity has actually helped Chileans grow up and actually take their place among the leaders of agriculture in the world today. During the winter months, in the United States, this is where we get most of our fruits. Peaches, Plums, Nectarines, Grapes, all of our beautiful berries, Kiwifruit, Apples. They all come from Chile. Well, we’re going to show you the produce of Chile, the high technology of Chile. Yes, they have a past, a rich heritage of agriculture, but they have got a bright future, and we’re going to show you that future all this week…with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
TEASE: Heh, in my next Produce Man report, we’re in an old world market in Santiago, Chile…taking a lot at their produce.
CHILE III FOOD SAFETY (Wednesday, May 16): Heh, there’s the U.S. flag…and the Chilean flag. That’s right, we are in Chile, and the USDA is here too. We’re at the inspection site of Los Lirios. It’s about a half hour south of Santiago, Chile. Now, the Chileans take food safety very seriously. They do a lot when it comes to the quality and food safety of their crops. You know, most U.S. consumers consider foreign grown produce to be “third world” produce, crops are contaminated with illegal pesticides, or to be polluted with filthy water. That is not really the case here in Chile. In fact, the Chilean growers have put together what they call “Chile GAP.” Good Agricultural Practices. They look at three areas. They look at food safety. It is priority one, from the farm, all the way to the shipping. Food safety is priority one. Number two, they look at agricultural sustainability, making sure their land and water resources are well taken care of, and protected for future generations. And they are also looking at corporate and social responsibilities. In fact, the growers here, they have educated over 75,000 of their farm workers. Now, I’m going to be here with Mark. He is from the USDA, from the United States. He’s going to show us what goes on in this building behind me. I’m Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
TEASE: Heh, in my next Produce Man report, that’s right, I’m in Chile, but what’s the U.S. flag doing here?
CHILE IV FOOD SAFETY (Thursday, May 17): Heh, when samples are brought in from the fields, from the packing sheds, they are brought in to this protected netted area here. And then the nets are once again closed. They will be allowed in, then unloaded, and this place will be locked down again. Now, this sample that was brought in from the packing shed, like all samples here, is double wrapped, and they are having to unwrap it, and it’s locked. That’s right. Once it leaves the packing shed, it’s locked down to make sure this is the sample that they will test, and there is no hanky panky. There are 30 cartons in this sample. It’s called hypo-geometric sampling. The computer just randomly picks different cartons from the various lots to be sampled. Out of a pack of about 1,500 cartons, these 30 cartons were selected, and these are going to be sampled now. Now what this inspector first checks for is that these are the cartons the computer selected. He’s matching up the numbers on the carton with the numbers on his inspection sheet. Now, what happened to the other 1,300 or 1,400 cartons? Have they already been shipped to the U.S. No way. They are waiting, being held until these have been inspected and released. Once this sample lot is released, then, and only then can they ship to the U.S. I’m Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
TEASE: I’m Mark Stahl, USDA APHIS, and I’m going to show you how we inspect fruit in Chile.
CHILE V FOOD SAFETY (Friday, May 18): Once fruit is inspected, before we can start the inspection on our sample of apples, they make sure to clean and disinfect the inspection table, to make sure there are no insects, no dirt, nothing is left behind from the previous inspection. With me is Mark Stahl from the USDA. That’s right, the USDA is here in Chile, and Mark, tell us some of the things you are looking for here. MARK: We are looking for insects, pests, possible diseases of the apple. YPM: What are you checking the bottom for? MARK: There might be a hitchhiker in here. We want to make sure nothing has snuck in on us, you know. YPM: Well, the samples are done. Mark, thanks for walking us through this important process. Now, you’ve been over here for three years, and you have inspected a lot of produce. When you get back to the United States, how do you answer your family and friends when they ask you, “Is the produce safe from Chile?” MARK: Yes, it is. YPM: It’s delicious…and safe. I’m Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
TEASE: I’m Mark Stahl, USDA APHIS, and I’m going to show you how we inspect fruit in Chile.
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