SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, Savannah, GA

The SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference was the first of 2014. Organized by the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, this four-day meeting and conference was a mix of educational sessions and trade show. It allowed growers, suppliers, and vendors to talk, to learn more about Georgia and national produce issues, and to make new friends and business contacts.

Attendees of the Trade Show at the SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference,
Savannah, GA, Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey

This year people came travelled from all over the North American continent to the conference. There were people from the East Coast, the Midwest, California and even Canada. According to show officials attendance was up by five percent from last year with over 3000 people participating. And over 300 companies exhibited at this year's Trade Show.

Hillside Orchard Farms apples at SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable
Conference, Savannah, GA, Copyright 2014 by Helen
A. Lockey

The educational talks were broken up into produce related conferences for Blueberry, Peach, Food Safety, Organic, Roadside Markets, Vegetable, Vidalia Onion, Blackberry & Raspberry, Muscadine, Sweet Corn, Watermelon, Business Operations and Strawberry.

Talks were held over three days and covered many topics like--"Organic Medicinal Herbs: How To Grow And Market To Meet Today's Demands," "Pollinators And What's Being Done To Protect Them," and "Update On FSMA & How the New FDA Rules Will Affect Your Operation."

Live auction with Joe Jones at SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable
Conference, Savannah, GA, Copyright 2014 by Helen
A. Lockey

On Friday, a live auction, directed by Joe Jones of Speedway Company, raised $9650 for the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association (GFVGA).

By the end of the conference new information about produce had passed from speaker to attendee, new business connections had been formed and a new appreciation for the produce industry had been created.

The GFVGA, started in 1996, when Georgia based peach, vegetable, and blueberry growers realized they needed to support and empower themselves and other producers. They went on to become the 'Voice," of the produce industry in Georgia.

In 1999 they held their first conference and meeting in Savannah, Georgia, where they offered producers educational sessions, a trade show and a chance to learn how to market their produce better.  Later in 2003, the conference was named the SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference.

To find out more about the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association you can go to their website http://gfvga.org

US Highbush Blueberry Council, 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla.

Did you know it was a woman who first thought of domesticating blueberries? That’s right Elizabeth White (1871-1954) was crazy about blueberries and dreamed of someday having fields of succulent blueberries to eat, according to Deborah Payne of the US Highbush Blueberry Council during an interview at the 17^th Americas Food and Beverage Show in Miami, Florida.

Deborah Payne of US Highbush Blueberry Council, 17th Americas Food &
Beverage Show, Miami, Fla. Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey

In 1906, White began gathering wild blueberry cuttings from plants that she liked. She was looking for succulent berries that were bright colored, thin skinned, sweet, plump, and juicy. She got a local woodsman to help her identify bushes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Then in 1911 she read a report by botanist Dr. Frederick V. Coville that talked about his experiments with Highbush blueberries. She was so fascinated she contacted him and they started working together to cross-pollinate plants to find develop the ideal blueberry. 

In 1916 White found the variety she liked the best. She then harvested 600 quarts and shipped the United States's first commercial crop to customers. The blueberries were called Tru-Blu berries and were packaged in brown paper secured with sticky tape.

Several years later she changed the packaging to cellophane so customers could see what they were purchasing. 

US Highbush Blueberry Council's dried blueberries, 17th
Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla.
Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey

Thanks to White and the other originators of cultivated commercial Highbush blueberries we now have a berry that has a strong flavor, is a bright blue color, and tastes pleasant.

To find out more about the US Highbush Blueberry Council you can go to http:///www.ushbc.org

Atlantic Natural Foods LLC, NC: Fishless Tuna & More

Start your new year healthy with something vegetarian. Atlantic Natural Foods LLC, a Nashville, North Carolina, based company has a tasty Kosher Certified soy protein seafood like product. "Our biggest challenge was the flavor profile. We only have one chance to impress," said Kelly Krause, Operating Partner & Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Natural Foods LLC, during an interview at the 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami Beach, Florida.

Steve Morris and Kelly Krause of Atlantic Natural Foods LLC,
at 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla. Copyright 2014 by
Helen A Lockey

Steve Morris, Vice President Sales of Atlantic Natural Foods LLC, used to work in the seafood industry. He knows that the oceans will not be able to sustain future populations. His company's fishless tuna was started for people concerned about dolphins and mercury consumption.

Meatless Select Fishless Tuna by Atlantic Natural Foods LLC,
at 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla.,
Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey

I tried the Meatless Select Fishless tuna and was surprised how tasty it was.

They have other products like vegetarian taco filling. "We wanted to have a main stream profile food that could be a nice option for older people wanting to get saturated fats out of their diet," said Morris.

They also have a Taco Food Truck based in Raleigh, N.C., where people can try their products. "It's a nice way for people to try samplings. They try it and discover its really good," said Morris.

Atlantic Natural Foods LLC is continuously creating tasty products including some new East Indian spiced dishes. They conducted market research tasting trails in India to make sure they got the flavor profile correct.

"It's got to be perfect before we launch," said Morris, adding, "We're not shooting for, 'Not so bad,' comments. We're shooting for 'Fantastic.'"

To find out more about Atlantic Natural Foods LLC Kosher Certified vegetarian food products you can go to their website http://atlanticnaturalfoods.com

Or you can call Steve Morris toll free at 800-843-0804 or email him at smorris@atlanticnaturalfoods.com