STUART AGAIN NAMED TO FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced Oct. 31 the names of members of the new Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. Included was FFVA President Mike Stuart and FFVA Board Member Dan Richey, both named to second terms. USDA will schedule the committee's first meeting for January 2008 in Washington, D.C.

The 25 members were selected from individuals nominated by their peers. Committee members representfresh fruit and vegetable growers/shippers, fresh fruit and vegetable wholesalers, retailers, industry trade associations, importers, fruit and vegetable processors, foodservice suppliers, fresh-cut processors, brokers and state departments of agriculture. Each member is appointed to a two-year term. Fourteen of the members are incumbents from the previous advisory committee.

STUDY SHOWS NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS FIGHT FAT

Scientists in Taiwan are reporting new insights into why diets rich in fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of obesity. Their study, ppublished in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, focuses on healthful natural antioxidant compounds called flavonoids and phenolic acids.

In the study, Gow-Chin Yen and Chin-Lin Hsu point out that large amounts of those compounds occur in fruits, vegetables, nuts and plant-based beverages such as coffee, tea, and wine. Scientists long have known that flavonoids and phenolic acids have beneficial health effects in reducing the risk of heart attacks, cancer, obesity, and other disorders. However, there has been uncertainty about exactly how these compounds affect adipocytes, or fat cells.

The researchers studied how 15 phenolic acids and six flavonoids affected fat cells in laboratory cultures of mouse cells. Their results showed that fat cells exposed to certain antioxidants had lower levels of an enzyme that forms triglycerides and accumulated lower levels of triglycerides — fatty materials which at high levels increase the risk of heart disease. The findings suggest that these compounds could be effective in improving the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms like obesity and high blood sugar that increase the risk of heart disease, the researchers said.

Source:: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

IPM AWARD NOMINATIONS SOUGHT

A new award program initiated by the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center will recognize professionals devoted to IPM. The Friends of Southern IPM Awards program recognizes extraordinary achievement in research, extension and implementation of IPM in the southern region of the United States.

Any person or group whose work is based primarily in the South is eligible for an award. Deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. ET Nov. 26. To learn more, go to www.sripmc.org/friendaward2008/.