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General News BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2015 www.gourmetnews.com GENERAL NEWS 4 National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show: March 6-8 The 27th Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show is set to take place March 6- 8 at the Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded by Dave Dewitt, the event is the largest and most visited food show in the world dedicated specifically to hot and spicy foods. This year's show was almost entirely sold out a month in advance of its opening, and organizers expect over 200 exhibitors to attend, displaying over 1,000 unique products. At least 20,000 visitors are expected to stop by the event, including both trade and general public attendees from around the world. Exhibitors already set to display their products at this year's National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show include some of the most popular producers of spicy foods in the country. For more information or to register to attend, visit www.fieryfoodsshow.com. Catersource and Event Solutions: March 8-11 The Catersource and Event Solutions Conference and Trade Show is a premier event dedicated to the education and growth of catering and events professionals. The largest global catering and events conference, Catersource provides the most expansive network relevant to the catering and events business. This year's Catersource event is scheduled to take place March 8-11 at Caesar's Palace and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. Returning for its 23rd year, this year's event will welcome thousands of attendees from across all 50 states and more than 30 countries around the globe. This year, Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem in New York City will provide the opening keynote presentation at the event. For more information and to register to attend, visit www.catersource.com/conference- tradeshow/2015. California's Artisan Cheese Festival: March 20-22 California's Artisan Cheese Festival is back for its ninth year, March 20-22 in Petaluma. Celebrating all things cheese, the Festival brings together artisan cheesemakers, cheesemongers, authors, chefs, brewers, winemakers and enthusiastic guests for three days of cheese tasting, education and celebration. Throughout the weekend, guests will have the opportunity to experience new, limited-production and rare artisan cheeses and learn about the art of making cheese, while supporting California farmers and cheesemakers in their ongoing effort to advance sustainability. This year's Festival weekend will include seminars, pairings, tastings, farm tours, hands- on cheesemaking classes and cheese-focused demonstrations. New elements this year include a "Cheesemonger's Duel – The Best Bite" reception on Friday night and an additional off- site seminar at the new Cowgirl Creamery location in Petaluma. Tickets are now on sale and available through www.artisancheesefestival.com. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners say that a global effort is needed to prevent the rapid spread of the deadly Fusarium wilt disease in bananas. Fusarium wilt poses a severe threat to economic welfare and food security in several developing countries. Global banana production is currently worth $36 billion, and the industry pro- vides a source of income or food to some 400 million people. Plant scientists have been warning for several years that the world's most popu- lar banana variety, the Cavendish, has fallen victim to a new strain of fungus causing wilting and mass plant die-offs. Now, FAO and a group of international experts have agreed on the framework for a global program on Fusarium wilt that would work on three main fronts of ac- tion: preventing future outbreaks, man- aging existing cases and strengthening international collaboration and coordina- tion among institutions, researchers, gov- ernments and producers. Supporting ongoing research, educating producers and assisting governments in developing country-specific policies and regulation for prevention of the disease would be key aspects of the program. FAO estimates that overall funding needs for the work will total approxi- mately $47 million. Part of that funding would be employed to provide swift on- the-ground assistance to countries facing new outbreaks. "Fusarium wilt disease has been a major challenge in the history of banana produc- tion," said FAO's head of Plant Protection, Clayton Campanhola. "After the devasta- tion [the disease] recently caused to ba- nanas in parts of Asia, we have to fear its spread in Africa and the Middle East and also to Latin America and consider it as a threat to production globally." "Bananas are the world's most consumed and exported fruit," said Fazil Dusunceli, a plant disease expert with FAO's Plant Pro- tection Division. "With 85 percent of all ba- nanas being produced for domestic consumption, you can imagine the impact of this disease on food security and liveli- hoods in developing countries." FAO's new intervention-and-prevention program comes on the coattails of a recent outbreak in Mozambique, which prompted an FAO emergency project in December to contain the fungus in the African country. Earlier outbreaks of Fusarium wilt disease, colloquially known as Panama Disease, brought Indonesia's banana exports of more than 100,000 tons annually to a grinding halt, causing annual losses of some $134 million in revenue in Sumatra alone. Cur- rently, the disease is severely affecting more than 6,000 hectares in Philippines and 40,000 hectares in China. Fusarium wilt spreads rapidly through soil, water and contact with contaminated farm equipment and vehicles, making swift responses essential to preventing incur- sions and outbreaks. Once soil is contami- nated with the fungus, an affected field becomes unfit for producing bananas for up to three decades. Experts warn that the solution to com- bating Fusarium wilt may ultimately lie in finding a new banana variety that is im- mune to the fungus. Another possible so- lution may lie in making banana production systems as a whole more genet- ically diverse and resilient. In general FAO experts argue that better use of available local varieties is key to building resilience to disease, and preventing food insecurity and major economic losses. "We are seeing that production systems with more diverse varieties and crops are more resilient to the disease," said Dusunceli. Still, experts also stress that the most ef- fective way of combating the spread of the disease is vigilance to employ preventive measures to stop entrance of the fungus into a country or region and rapid contain- ment if it does. GN Banana Experts Search for Solutions as Fungus Plagues Global Production The Organic Trade Association applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent announcement of a proposed rule to ex- empt more organic farmers and handlers from paying into conventional commodity check-off programs, saying this is an im- portant step that recognizes the organic in- dustry's unique needs and lets the industry decide where its dollars are best spent. Na- tional commodity research and promotion check-off programs, funded by producers of the specific commodity, have been a part of American agriculture for almost fifty years. There are now 22 national check-off programs in place, ranging from the oldest check-off program begun in 1966 for cot- ton, to one of the newest that promotes American-grown mangos. The iconic "Got Milk" and "The Incredible Edible Egg" campaigns are examples of promotion and education programs paid for by successful producer-funded check-offs. The USDA's proposed rule would exempt organic farmers, handlers, marketers and importers from paying into the same check- off programs paid into by the producers of non-organic commodities. It would pertain to those who produce, process, handle and import organic products. The exemption from conventional com- modity check-off program assessments is very significant for certified organic opera- tions. USDA estimates that not having to contribute to conventional check-offs will free up an extra $13.6 million for organic stakeholders to invest back into the organic industry. "OTA has worked very hard to get this ex- emption on the books, and we are optimistic that this important regulation will now soon take effect," said Laura Batcha, CEO and Ex- ecutive Director of OTA. "The organic sector is a fast-growing, distinct industry with its own unique demands for research and pro- motion. We're pleased USDA is moving swiftly to allow the industry to use its money to grow and develop its own sector." "These additional savings that will be available as a result of this exemption can be used by organic farmers, ranchers and handlers to address everyday problems and to tackle issues that will help ad- vance their businesses and the organic sector," Batcha added. The organic industry is experiencing booming times, with organic sales hitting a new record of over $35 billion in 2013. More than 80 percent of U.S. families now buy organic products. "The successes in the organic industry have been enormous," said Batcha. "How- ever, there is still much that needs to be done in the way of educating consumers about organic, devoting more research dol- lars to organic agriculture and helping farmers to convert to organic. Giving the industry more ability to invest in its future is very significant." The Organic Trade Association is a membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 6,500 organic busi- nesses across 49 states. Its members in- clude growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distribu- tors, importers, exporters, consultants, re- tailers and others. OTA's Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. The organization's mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the pub- lic and the economy. GN USDA to Exempt Organic Producers from Paying into Conventional Commodity Check-Off Programs

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