Foreign sourced food - safe to eat?

Here at Belly Acres we are fussy about the food we purchase. One of the biggest bagaboos is foreign-sourced Chow.

Too many US based Vendors will not reveal their sources, hiding behind a "packed and distributed' by XYZ Corp label.

Then there are the products clearly labeled as a foreign product. If these look worthwhile, I'll dig out what we can on the company/coop/importer.

In the past, I have posted about Tasty Bites, an Indian company that has passed the check here at Belly Acres.

Today, I'm adding Venus Growers, out of Macedonia, Greece.
(Company | Venus Growers) for background. Lists all EU certifications/inspections.. Multiple inspections by non-Greek entities and they are current thru 2019.

Right now, I've limited the product purchased to peaches, which happens to be their main product line. As long time co-op (est 1964) it seems they have survived the economic turmoil boiling thru Greece of late.

These products may be available in your area. If US sourced fruit is unavoidable, the Venus brand is worth a look.

More reading
https://www.trade.gov/td/standards/markets/Central, Eastern Europe, Russia/Greece/Greece.pdf

 

oh hell 80*90% of tomatoes are grown in Mexico. so this is laughable we have to import if we don't eat seasonally. Yuma, AZ grows most of the lettuce and leafy greens consumed in the USA in the winter but the transportation is hella costly.

Same with melons... products of Mexico or chili

People get weird about the dumbest things without thinking it thru. There is a reason our ancestors ate seasonally.

Seasonality Chart: Vegetables | CUESA


Seasonal Produce Guide


What's in season in your region? | Field to Plate

 

And, it seems, Yuma produces deadly lettuce. This has become a function of increasingly centralized product centers - esp in the AG section of the economy. .

For example, 82% of total global almond production comes from Central CA. If a blight, water shortage - or major earthquake hits, kiss those almonds goodby.

Carrots?
94% of the U.S. carrot production is grown in seven states: California (66,580 acres or 63% of the total production); Texas (9,400 acres); Washington (8,360 acres); Michigan (7,120 acres); Florida (6,780 acres); Colorado (3,700 acres); and Wisconsin (3,660 acres). Not counting what we grow in the garden, or course.

The USDA has this interactive map for crop production - USDA - National Agricultural Statistics Service - Statistics by State

I worry more about supply chain (transportation/handling/distribution) issues than labor strikes or drought.

 

Almost all fresh fruit and vegetables that come to the US are imported at least some point throughout the year.

 

Alternative to eating imported foods is to Eat Locally, Eat Seasonally and Preserve yer own. Pretty short list of what I buy for the larder or the Chuck Wagon that is not either produced by myself or from other local farms. Black Pepper, Lemon Pepper, Salt, Coffee, Tea, Sugar, Flour, Corn Meal, Big Onions, yeast, Vanilla Extract, baking powder and baking soda. Occasionally grapes, oranges and bananas.

I raise the pork, poultry and fish. Trade with a couple of friends for beef and Alaskan Salmon.

I grow 4-5 varieties of lettuce year round along with green onions. carrots, turnips, collards, swiss chard, radishes, endive, cucumbers and a few tomatoes.

Summer produces green beans, Shelling beans, popcorn, summer squash winter squash, corn, a lot more tomatoes, sweet potatoes, thick skin russet potatoes, red potatoes,Dill, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, basil, Cilantro, rosemary, tarragon, garlic, and chives.

The orchard provides Peaches May into August and preserved year round, Apples from June Through October, Pears, Apricots, and 4 kinds of grapes around the fringes.

Wild foods hunted and gathered Black Berries, Raspberries, mushrooms, Persimmons, Elder berries wild onions/garlic. Deer, Rabbit (In Abundance), Quail, Squirrel, Ducks, and Geese. Catfish, Bull Frogs, bluegill, redear, large mouth bass, crappie, crawdads, snapping and soft shell turtles. And I have nothing against a roasted coon or muskrat (Note none of the wild foods go to the Chuck Wagon due to the regulations).

The drawback is that it is a full time job + some growing, raising, harvesting, packing or preserving that volume of food for 4-5 months out of the year. And if you are going to sell a lot of it, it is another full time job + At the same time. I spent a lot of years working 120-130 hours per week Mid April Through Mid October and loved it when the first heavy frost arrived and the weekly hours got to drop back to 40-50 per week. Stress both mental and physical can eventually take a heavy toll on the body

The upside you know exactly where and how the vast majority of what your eating came from. You can earn a better than average living but it ain't easy money. The work itself is very satisfying, and hey knowing you fed 600+ people on a average week and 1200 or more on special event weeks is a pretty good feeling.

So my only question would be, why even worry about Country of Origin or Supply chains when there are several alternatives? ALthough it is a total PITA being the Approved Source, Distributor, Warehouse, packer and processor from a regulatory perspective and getting to be more of a PITA the by the year.

 

I think they nailed it to one field that was producing that lettuce. Not all fields in Yuma. Lettuce is so easy to grow indoors IDK why people don't grow their own. High water content foods are always more susceptible to bacteria like Ecoli

 

I grow, forage, shoot or catch .about 70% of our diet. It does take a lot of time But its also about 70% of my life style as well as my recreation. Its healthy, my family is healthy and I know where most of my food comes from.