Onion marketer pushes mandatory sweet standards

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TOMATOES — F.O.B.S AS OF MAY 14

CENTRAL AND SOUTH FLORIDA DISTRICTS — Shipments (433-454-398) — Movement expected to increase. Trading moderate. Prices 5x6s higher, others lower. Extra services included. 25-pound cartons loose mature-greens 85% U.S. 1 or better 5x6s $8.95-9.95, 6x6s $7.95-8.95, 6x7s $7.95-8.95. Quality generally good.

MEXICO CROSSINGS THROUGH NOGALES, ARIZ. — Crossings (152-146-159, greenhouse 124-123-137, vine-ripes 28-23-22) — Movement expected to decrease seasonally. Supplies 4x4 to 4x5s light. Trading 4x4 to 4x5s fairly active, others slow. Prices 4x4 to 4x5s higher, others generally unchanged. Field-grown and greenhouse cartons/flats two-layer 4x4s mostly $9-10, 4x5s mostly $7.95-9, 5x5s mostly $4.99-5, 5x6s $4.64-5. Quality variable.

MEXICO CROSSINGS THROUGH OTAY MESA, CALIF. — Crossings (8-8-11, greenhouse 7-7-9, vine-ripes 1-1-2) — Movement expected to increase seasonally. Supplies in too few hands to establish a market. Quality generally good. The first f.o.b. report was expected to be issued the week of May 21.

WEST FLORIDA DISTRICT — Shipments (0-0-0) — Light harvest expected to start the week of May 28. Expect first f.o.b. by the first week of June.

U.S. SHIPPING POINTS — Greenhouse (54-56-**) — No prices reported. **unavailable

CANADA SHIPPING POINTS — Greenhouse (149*-150-**) — No prices reported. **unavailable, *revised

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Home > Newsletters > Onion marketer pushes mandatory sweet standards

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Onion marketer pushes mandatory sweet standards

06/09/2011 12:30:36 PM
Doug Ohlemeier

Over the past decade, sweet onion marketers have begun to embrace testing for sweetness and marketing them as certified sweet, in an effort to weed out pungent “hot” onions.

Now a longtime onion salesman is lobbying the U.S. Department of Agriculture for mandatory national sweetness rules.

Rogers Barry Rogers, president of Melbourne, Fla.-based Sweet Onion Trading Corp., seeks to stop “onion fraud” in a campaign he calls the Global Certification Initiative. Rogers, who has sold sweet onions for more than 20 years, said he’s planning to meet with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to inquire about establishing national regulations concerning the marketing of sweet onions.

“You can name thousands of products that have grading standards that have to do with the taste of the product,” Rogers said. “So why shouldn’t sweet onions? It has come to the point where sweet onions have an increased margin over hot onions.

“People keep wanting to get in it but they don’t want to do due-diligence on it. What they’re doing is committing fraud,” he said “By selling non- or semi-sweet onions, they’re holding back the whole category.”

Rogers declined to name whom he plans to meet with at USDA and the other large sweet onion grower-shippers he’s working with on the campaign, which he started in May. He said he has a tentative meeting scheduled with USDA officials who he said seem receptive to the idea. Rogers said some retailers have also requested the USDA set national standards.

Rogers said he’s visited with several large grower-shippers, and the group is trying to “put their heads together” and find a way to get some national standards going.

Sweet Onion Trading uses National Onion Labs Inc., Collins, Ga., to certify the pyruvic acid content of his onions, which is a factor that determines pungency.

David Burrell, president and chief executive officer of National Onion Labs, was on the forefront of the certification movement. He was the defendant in several lawsuits filed by Vidalia onion growers who claimed the certification devalued non-certified onions.

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Onion marketer pushes mandatory sweet standards

06/09/2011 12:30:36 PMDoug Ohlemeier

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06/09/2011 12:30:36 PM
Doug Ohlemeier