Nearly three years ago, a study conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles and published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that "nutrients in avocados can work together to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells." UCLA researchers "discovered that avocados are the richest source of lutein among commonly eaten fruits," according to a UCLA press release. Lutein is a carotenoid that acts as an antioxidant and that has been linked to reduced risk of prostate cancer in previous studies, but the UCLA study suggested that the combination of lutein and other nutrients

SUN VALLEY, ID -- The Idaho Potato Commission announced initiatives for its 2007-08 season that include the release of two new commercials with spokesperson Denise Austin and the launch of a major cable television commercial campaign expected to make over a billion consumer impressions nationwide. The commission, which is now in its 70th year of operation, announced the developments as part of its overall action plan for 2007-08 during the 79th annual meeting of the Idaho Grower-Shipper Association, held here Aug. 29-31. Frank Muir, president of the Eagle, ID-based organization, led the

On the one-year anniversary of the spinach recall, Congress has turned its attention in recent weeks to front-page news about China imports and is likely to pass legislation that will place new requirements on food importers. But the produce industry is aware that one more outbreak during the coming weeks could redirect the attention of lawmakers to legislate a fix. This is exactly the turn of events that took place on Aug. 29 after news that King City, CA-based Metz Fresh LLC had launched a voluntary recall of bagged spinach. Both Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) fired off

NAPLES, FL -- The Florida tomato industry has seen the value of its crop drop nearly $260 million over the past three seasons. The grim statistic was given by Reggie Brown, executive director of the Florida Tomato Committee, during his state of the industry speech Sept. 5 at the Florida Tomato Institute, part of the 32nd Joint Tomato Conference, held here Sept. 5-8. "Going back to 2004-05, this industry sold round tomatoes under a federal marketing order here in the state for a value of some $663 million," Mr. Brown told attendees at the event, held here at the Ritz-Carlton. "The year after

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has pledged to introduce food- safety legislation that will focus solely on fresh produce after the latest spinach recall, this time from Metz Fresh LLC, hit the newspapers last month. "With the memory of last summer's massive E. coli outbreak in spinach still fresh in our minds, Americans are once again being hit by a large-scale recall of bagged spinach," Sen. Harkin said in an Aug. 30 statement. "For American consumers and producers, it is long overdue for the FDA to exercise more oversight of food-safety practices both in the field and in the processing

WASHINGTON -- The produce industry welcomed news that a federal judge had temporarily delayed enforcing the so-called no-match rule. But farm businesses watched a longtime AgJOBS supporter exit from Congress before legislation giving relief from the growing farmworker crisis is finalized. On Aug. 31, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order barring the Social Security Administration from sending the no-match letters. Some 140,000 letters were slated for delivery early this month, informing employers that it had detected mismatches between employee names and Social Security numbers