Univ of Florida Strawberry Sweetness Gene and Turkey Breast Prices Climb
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Strawberry consumers love the fruit’s sweet flavor, and University of Florida scientists are trying to meet that desire, while also helping growers produce high yields.
But, www.morningagclips.com reports, genes and volatile compounds that control flavor are difficult to pinpoint.
For years, UF scientists tried to find just the right genes for flavor and found the GPS in 2019, when the first cultivated strawberry genome was published.
www.morningagclips.com/uf-scientists-see-bright-future-as-they-seek-savory-strawberries-and-high-yield/
**New Data from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows foods labeled “natural” accounted for slightly more than 16% of consumer retail food purchases in 2018.
Specific standards or processes are required to use certain label claims, like USDA Organic.
But, the “natural” claim has minimal requirements and using it doesn’t require the product to provide any health or environmental benefits.
Regulatory agencies treat the claim as meaning nothing artificial was added, and the product was minimally processed.
**USDA’s Economic Research Service reports frozen wholesale turkey breast prices climbed abruptly in response to the 2022 avian flu outbreak.
Once reports of new outbreaks slowed in mid-December, whole turkey hen prices leveled off.
At the same time, breast prices declined, averaging $2.34 per pound in the week ending April 28, 2023.
That’s $0.32 higher than a year earlier, but down $0.64 from last year’s peak price.
