 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Fresh”
Florida Classic Growers (FCG) announced a partnership with Riverfront Packing Company, LLC; The Packers of Indian River, Inc. and Quality Fruit Packers, Inc. The additional citrus volume from the partnering companies will expand product offerings and increase distribution to FCG’s customers marketed under the Florida Classic label. Riverfront and its marketing arm, Scott Marketing, Inc., will continue handling all sales …
By Sarah Bostick Grocery stores have trained the customer to expect exactly one type of fruit: spotless. Anyone who grows citrus for a living knows that achieving spotless fruit can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. There is a growing movement in the United States that is pushing back against the idea that fruits and vegetables must be spotless to …
Summer Citrus from South Africa announced in late May that its first vessel of the year to the United States will arrive at the New York port soon. The vessel will deliver Easy Peeler clementines. More Easy Peelers and some Navel oranges will arrive in Philadelphia in late June. During peak season, Star Ruby grapefruit and Cara-Cara oranges will also …
Even with a projected downturn in production, “fresh citrus movement is projected to increase as a result of new plantings and other favorable conditions,” a Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) official reported recently. Florida Citrus Packers, the trade association for fresh fruit packers and shippers, agreed. Marisa Zansler, FDOC director of economic and market research, noted that the production forecast …
Representatives of the California and Florida fresh citrus industries had distinctly different reactions to the announcement that some fresh citrus from China can now be imported into the United States. California Citrus Mutual President Casey Creamer said, “We don’t anticipate any major disruptions in our fresh markets. It is not anticipated that much volume will come to the U.S.” But …
So far, Florida’s fresh citrus industry reportedly has fared well throughout the coronavirus crisis, with fruit in high demand and no major problems blamed on the pandemic. Doug Bournique, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League, said consumer demand has kept packers in his region busy. “Their demand is strong from the supermarkets, the orders are up, and …
Mark Ritenour with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) discusses research efforts to keep Florida’s fresh fruit marketable. Ritenour is a postharvest horticulturist at the Indian River Research and Education Center. Ritenour begins with maximum residue limit requirements for chemicals in fresh citrus for export. A UF/IFAS website provides pesticide residue limits by various major …
Polk County grower Ed Dickinson has good things to say about some orange-mandarin juice and fresh mandarins he sampled at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in November. Dickinson was one of dozens who tried new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) samples. He and others who scored the juice and fruit will help researchers …
Mark Ritenour with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) reports on evaluations of new fresh mandarin and sweet orange selections. Ritenour is a professor at the Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce. Ritenour lists four mandarin varieties that had “100 percent healthy fruit” after six or seven weeks in storage, even without being …
Quality and shelf life were evaluated for new fresh mandarin and sweet orange selections. By Mark A. Ritenour, Cuifeng Hu, Yu Wang and Fernando Alferez New fresh citrus fruit selections continue to be developed and released by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, promising new varieties are …
Greg Nelson, president of Egan Fruit Packing in Fort Pierce, Florida, summarizes the status of the fresh citrus industry and discusses opportunities for the future. “We’ve seen a slight decline in fresh orange consumption over the past 20 years, but a more significant, dramatic decline in fresh grapefruit consumption,” Nelson says. “But a lot of that is driven by lack …
Fresh citrus shipments from Florida so far in the 2017–18 citrus season have fallen 37 percent below the previous season, reports Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC) Manager Duke Chadwell. “And that percentage has held true from the beginning of the season up until now,” he says. “However, I do anticipate as we move forward that that percentage is going to grow. …
Some fresh citrus problems arise or can be addressed in the packinghouse; others must be dealt with earlier, in the grove. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Mark Ritenour discusses three problems that must be addressed in the grove. They are peel breakdown, fruit decay and pesticide residues. Ritenour summarizes a presentation he made at this …
The minimum size requirement for fresh Florida oranges and grapefruit was recently reduced. The Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), which manages a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus, requested the change. The minimum orange size was reduced from 2.5 to 2.25 inches in diameter. The grapefruit reduction was from 3 and five-sixteenths inches to 3 inches. CAC Manager Duke Chadwell …
Florida’s fresh citrus industry has suffered even more from HLB than has the much larger juice industry. Duke Chadwell, manager of the Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), discusses pending organizational changes in the fresh industry, brought on primarily by HLB. The CAC administers a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus that has been in place since 1939. “The Citrus Administrative …
