Monthly Archives: November 2015

Bumblebees could deliver organic pesticides

A Vancouver-based start-up has plans to use bumblebees, already many growers best friend, to deliver natural pesticides and beneficial fungi directly to plants.

The company aims to commercialise technology developed by researchers at the University of Guelph. This uses a tray filled with a patented mix of natural, beneficial microbes, which is then placed into the beehives placed in the crops for pollination.

“Imagine you have an apple orchard,” said Michael Collinson, president and CEO of Bee Vectoring Technology. “Because apple trees have a very large canopy, even though you may spray it and use a special type of spray that doesn’t go everywhere, you still won’t touch every bloom. Whereas the bees deliver product every single day, to every single bloom.”

The company says it has conducted extensive testing to make sure the process is safe for bees and uses materials in the powder that bees would naturally come across. “The bees are actually already carrying it, but they don’t carry it that often,” adds Collinson. “So what we’re doing as a company, what happens once in a while in nature, we’re making it happen consistently.”

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Fruit supplier at centre of labour allegations

A recent undercover exposé of migrant workers at FW Mansfied & Son by Channel 4 News alleged that Romanian workers lived in ‘appalling conditions’ supplied by labour provider Pro-Force.

Channel 4 Business Editor Siobhan Kennedy said, ‘One Pro-Force manager filmed undercover tells the workers they must pay for gas and electricity… in addition, workers have to pay £5 a day for the shuttle bus that takes them to and from the field and pack house – again more potential income for Pro-Force. On one occasion, workers ask for a short break to have water. We witness the boss threatening to throw them all out and replace them with other workers.’ Channel 4’s report showed images of faeces-encrusted toilets; soiled, sodden carpets; mould-infested walls and dirty showers.

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority, together with customers Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer all launched investigations. Aldi and Waitrose also suspended their orders from Nickle Farm.

However, both FW Mansfied and Pro-Force hit back at the allegations. Matthew Jarrett, Managing Director, Pro-Force Limited commented, “Pro-Force operates in a highly regulated sector, and is under constant scrutiny by third party auditors. We are monitored continually, and have never failed any of the numerous unannounced audits carried out, demonstrating our best practice in all aspects of our business. He said that the footage had been, “edited together to create the impression Channel 4 News clearly wanted to portray.”

W Mansfield & Son described the Channel 4 News report as ‘false’, saying it painted a ‘highly selective and completely distorted and unrepresentative picture of our business.’

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Parsnips used to launch war on waste

Television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall used parsnips as an example of the waste in the food industry in the first of his two Hugh’s War on Waste programmes which was shown on BBC One on Monday 2 November.

He visited the Hammond family at Tattersett Farm in Norfolk where he saw 20 tons of parsnips a week wasted as they did not meet Morrisons’ specifications. Olly Hammond, who runs the family business with his mother Debbie, told the programme, “If we sent in these parsnips they would be rejected and returned the next day.”

Although the Hammonds were initially happy to appear on camera, they later withdrew from a follow-up piece, allegedly due to pressure from the supermarket, which also refused to discuss the issue on camera during the first episode. In a statement the company said it had previously tried to sell wonky parsnips but customers had not bought them.

The second episode of Hugh’s War on Waste will be screened on BBC One at 9 pm on Monday 9 November.

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Extending the UK asparagus season

A new industry-funded joint project aims to increase the UK asparagus season.

Funded by Innovate UK, BBSRC and the asparagus industry, the £600,000 initiative is being led by Cranfield University, with partners Cobrey Farms and ICA (International Controlled Atmosphere).

“The project is about extending the storage life of UK asparagus by up to six weeks with innovative dynamically controlled atmosphere technology usually applied to apples,” explained Professor Leon Terry, who heads Cranfield University’s Soil and Agrifood Institute, adding that his 20-strong postharvest team is one of the largest in the EU. “We are basically transferring that technology to asparagus and using some of the knowledge acquired to extend the UK season.”

The project will investigate the feasibility of using ICA’s SafePod system, currently being trialled in the apple industry, on asparagus. “We’re investigating an idea and that doesn’t mean it’ll work, but if it does it will be fantastic – it will be a huge step forward,” said John Chinn of Cobrey farms which currently produces almost a third of the UK asparagus crop. “We know it works with apples and blueberries, but they have a low respiration rate in comparison with asparagus.”

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UK-grown sweet potatoes harvested

The first crop of UK-grown sweet potatoes has been harvested for supermarket Asda by Watts Farms at Hill Farm in Farningham, Kent.

Joe Cottingham, Watts Farms’ group director told The Guardian, “We have been successful in growing sweet potatoes outdoors in Kent because of careful variety trial work and selection for frost resistance, which the crop is susceptible to,” Cottingham explained. “They are grown in light soils through a mulch which allows us to get warmer soil temperatures which produce good-sized potatoes. We give the potatoes all the water they need through drippers underneath the mulch which takes them from small plants to much larger plants bearing fruit in five months.”

The company grows and packs more than 60 types of produce, including herbs and chillies, from 10 farms in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and Essex. “Sweet potatoes have been a challenge but we have finally got there after experimenting with a number of different varieties,” added Cottingham.

A white Caribbean sweet potato was rejected as “too sweet” before the company focused its efforts on a hardy red-skinned, orange-fleshed variety. “We are hugely proud to be delivering this UK first… Sweet potatoes are now a UK dinner table favourite, and these taste and look exactly the same as those grown overseas, so to have them from home soil is a great feat for us!” he concluded.

 

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Tesco to make produce two days fresher

Tesco says that a new initiative to remove a food packing stage in the journey from farm to fork will mean that customers will benefit from salads and citrus fruit that will stay fresh for up to two extra days.

The foods covered by the initiative include imported lettuce; tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli and celery. As part of its ongoing programme to tackle food waste Tesco looked at its supply chain to identify ways of working directly with producers to speed up the process by which freshly picked produce arrives in store. It found that as a result of advancements in packing and storage it was now possible to ship produce directly from European suppliers to Tesco stores, cutting the amount of time spent in transit which means getting produce to customers faster, and therefore fresher.

Tesco Group Food Commercial Director Matt Simister said, “For millions of our customers this move will mean having up to an extra two days in which to enjoy some of the most popular fruit and vegetables. The extra days of freshness will particularly benefit customers who are pressed for time and will mean they are less likely to throw away food.”

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Agriculture: Most Dangerous Industry in the UK

Agriculture has long been one of the most dangerous industries to work in. 2014 figures from the Health & Safety Authority showed an 87 per cent increase in fatalities with 30 people killed compared to 16 the year before.

Furthermore, the agricultural sector represented 55 per cent of all work related deaths in 2014 and it was the fifth consecutive year that the sector recorded the highest number of fatalities. Martin O’Halloran, CEO of the Health & Safety Authority commented, “The number of fatal accidents that occurred on farms last year was the highest in over 20 years. In May of 2014 there were five people killed.”

Now a supplier of Health & Safety Labelling products has warned farmers not to forget the risks associated with electricity, from pylons in fields to electrical tools and equipment.

Will Best, of PAT Labels Online, says, “There are many electrical risks which face farmers and agricultural workers. The reliance on both portable and fixed electrical equipment in often cluttered outbuildings & barns means that up to date and regular maintenance & testing is essential.

“With the increase in the size of agricultural machinery, strikes with overhead power lines are also a very real risk to workers. The safest practice would be to avoid overhead power lines altogether, however if you have to work near them, make sure everyone working is fully aware of their whereabouts.”

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