Legal Commentary

stop misting my broccoli!

By David A. Giacalone

..  While all the web pundits are yakking about tomorrow’s Presidential Election, Prof. Yabut wants me to deal with a more personal issue that has been giving him agita for even longer than this interminable political campaign:

The constant misting (spritzing) of produce in America’s supermarkets seems to reduce their at-home “shelf-life” by making them rot, mold, discolor, lose flavor, and go limp, far more quickly than if they were sold in dry bins.  The misting is done to make them appear more fresh at the store (and to replace moisture that is naturally lost after being picked and reduces the size and weight of the items).

Whether it’s broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, or leafy veggies, my friends and relatives from several generations have all noticed that dry (unmisted) produce stays fresh and usable longer at home than misted produce.  Nonetheless, about 90 percent of retailers now use automated misting systems.  (see “Produce in the mist,” Store Equipment & Design, by John Frank, July 2000) The quick demise of misted vegetables is an expensive waste.

The misting increases the cost of items sold by the pound, while forcing customers to waste time and paper towels attempting to dry the produce before refrigerating them.  And, water sitting around in the display bins is a great place for bacteria to thrive.

At my local market, which is part of the Price Chopper chain, you need to don a slicker or bring an umbrella to keep from being soaked by the incessant, high-volume spritzing.

shopping for sweet corn ?
the attractive stranger
is very choosy

stop drowning our green beans!

the grocery bag spills ?
blueberries . . . r  o  l  l
bananas don?t

….. by dagosan

At a farmer’s market yesterday, I was told by a 5th-generation vegetable farmer whose large, firm, broccoli I was admiring, that she has to take special care this time of year to make sure the frost has evaporated from the inside of the bunches before being picked.  Similarly, websites that give advice on caring for purchased vegetables and them keeping fresh (like here and there) warn not to wash vegetables until you are going to use them; and others suggest placing a paper towel with vegetables in plastic bags, “to absorb excess moisture and retain freshness.” Such advice seems to confirm my suspicions that excess moisture kills vegetables and store-spritzed veggies have a shorter life expectancy. [But see, this study, "Cold water mist humidification to preserve the quality of fresh vegetables during retail sale;" I can't say whether the observed freshness "during retail sale" continues once brought home by the consumer.  Similarly, I have no idea what these conclusions "on Ascorbic Acid Retention in Broccoli During Cabinet Display" mean post-retail.]

Sure, there are more important issues.  I’d rather have universal health care and peace in Iraq than dry produce.  But, we can’t let bigger issues keep us from attending to the small ones.  At least, not when we’re procrastinating from writing serious punditry.

unaware of the thief?s
eyes, melons
cooling in water

??.. by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue

..  If you came here today just looking for some fresh haiku and senryu, from a gardener who knows how to take poper care of his plants, before and after harvesting, you’re in luck.  Here are some of the newest poems by our dry friend Yu Chang, from the newest issue of Upstate Dim Sum:

a change in the weather
the last katydid
falls silent

first bloom
I empty
a bag of manure

water’s edge –
on each wavelet
your reflection

summer solstice
a milkweed
heavy with blossoms

street vendor–
a circle of friends
chewing squid

mountain lake –
streaks of moonlight
down her back

pressed together
across an empty bowl
a pair of chopsticks

… by Yu Chang - Upstate Dim Sum (2008/II)

Full post as published by f/k/a . . . on November 03, 2008 (boomark / email).