For Food Saftey Sake

on Friday, 03 February 2023. Posted in Blog & News

Moses Lake, Washington— February 1, 2023 – A new proposal in the Washington state legislature would toss out federal food packaging rules and make it more difficult to market our premier product: potatoes.

Grocery store produce tables are stacked high with potatoes in 5- and 10-pound perforated plastic bags. But the Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act would require potato packers to join a “producer responsibility organization” (PRO) and pay fees for the production and use of their branded bagged produce.

The bill also requires bag producers to change the composition of their bags to include increasing amounts of post-consumer recycled materials. A similar piece of legislation was passed in California in 2022.

However, the California legislation has one distinct difference: fresh produce is exempt from the requirements. California Senate Bill 54 states: “Neither the department nor a PRO shall impose a postconsumer recycled content requirement for covered material for fresh produce.”

Why? Because the Federal Drug Administration, which governs food packaging, requires food packaging to be “cleanable” or for “single-use” that is “unlikely to support growth or transfer of bacteria.”

The perforations in plastic potato bags promote air circulation and help to regulate storage temperatures to keep the potatoes fresh. They also make the bags “single use.”

Even authors of the bill note there are regulatory authorities that may supersede the bill language. It reads, “A producer regulatory organization must show that post-consumer recycled material rates would violate federal law” or show the amount of post-consumer recycled material in a bag is not “technologically feasible.” These organizations would still be required to register producers and users of these plastics, track, and report their usage on a public website.

Environmental stewardship is important but needs practical solutions. Creating regulations that put our local potato producers in violation of federal fresh produce packaging rules puts them in a no-win situation.

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Encouraging school foodservice operators to use more poatoes

Encouraging school foodservice operators to use more poatoes

As America’s Favorite Vegetable, potatoes can help provide students with the nutrients and energy they need to do their best during the school day. That’s why it’s important to remind school foodservice operators that potatoes are not only delicious, but also cost-effective and a nutritious addition to the school menu. In partnership with the School Nutrition Association (SNA), two webinars featured potatoes.  The first webinar, “Maximize Your Menus and Minimize Labor Constraints with Potatoes”, showcased potatoes through on-trend, student-friendly menu innovations and solutions to ease labor strains. The second webinar, “Fun Summer Feeding with Potatoes”, showcased how putting potatoes at the center of the plate can enhance summer feeding programs in fresh and fun ways. Both webinars included a live cooking demonstration with Potatoes USA Culinary Director Chef RJ Harvey, RD and Award-Winning Author Dayle Hayes, MS, RD. The demonstrations were pre-recorded in the Potatoes USA Spud Lab and were a big hit with the participants. Webinars Key Takeaways: Nutritional benefits of potatoes at an affordable price How potatoes can limit food waste Ways potatoes can take over as the center of the plate How serving potatoes to children over the summer can be fun Upon webinar completion, attendees were able to earn continuing education credits. All recipes and resources utilized in the webinar are available on the SNA website for future download. Following are some quotes from the operators who were very engaged in the webinar chat. “My favorite Webinar I’ve seen so far this year. VERY helpful and insightful. Well Done!”  “Love Dayle and RJ as a team. Can they please start a cooking youtube series? ‘Dayle and RJ: Potatoes for All!’” “Great webinar, gained new ideas for using potatoes. Thank you!” SNA is recognized as the authority on school nutrition and utilizes weekly webinars to educate their 50,000+ members. For more information on K-12 School Foodservice marketing activities, email potatoesraisethebar@potatoesusa.com.

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