Some Food Prices Are Down & Toxic Chemical Levels In Fish

Some Food Prices Are Down & Toxic Chemical Levels In Fish plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

It doesn’t happen very often but according to Ricky Volpe, USDA economist, fruit and vegetable prices are costing less than last year.

VOLPE: Fruit prices are down over a percent and vegetable prices are down 5% from where they were a year ago and we are very much on track for deflation for fresh vegetable prices and fruit prices are looking to be flat on the year. Deflation for major food categories are very rare but it looks like it’s happening this year for fresh vegetables.

Fish in the Columbia River are showing alarming levels of toxic chemicals according to new research. Tests on one fish showed levels of cancer-causing PCB's that were 273 times higher than the limit considered safe by the EPA. The tests also revealed arsenic levels in the fish more than 100 times the safe limit. The results were a surprise to even the researchers. The fish was caught in the Columbia River Slough. Other fish in the Cascade Locks and Astoria areas have also been found to contain very high levels of toxic chemicals. One researcher says he would think twice before eating the fish.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Looks like pumpkins are a hot commodity again this year. Real hot. Where I live there have already been several instances of pumpkin thievery, and Halloween is still a week away. Some particularly smarmy thieves stole all the pumpkins out of an elementary school’s student pumpkin patch. And last week there was a story in the news of a three hundred pound pumpkin being stolen from a farmers market in Illinois. It’s a sad fact of life, but bright orange pumpkins just seem to scream “steal me”! Normally, it isn’t too hard to locate stolen pumpkins, they’re usually found not too far away from the scene of the crime, albeit in umpteen different pieces. It is true that pumpkins don’t generally cost too much, but that’s not the point, and their cheapness shouldn’t make them fair game. Most people who decorate with pumpkins have come to the bitter conclusion that you either take the pumpkins in at night, or you make plans to replace them on a regular basis. Replacing pumpkins is annoying, but not difficult. What is difficult is telling a five year old why some people feel the need to take and, or destroy those things that aren’t theirs.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.