I received the following canned reply from Leah Busick [leah@floridatomatoes.org] at the Florida Tomato Committee. If in fact 70% are making the grade for export, then this is encouraging. However, 30% is still a lot of tomatoes to be excluded on looks alone. (I wonder if I would make the grade for a Florida export!)
She also blames poor tasting tomatoes on "improper handling". Ms. Busick - I've kept my perfectly red, perfectly round Florida tomatoes out of the refrigerator, and they still taste like bland, grainy, wet sawdust.
Dear Concerned Tomato Lover:
It has been falsely reported in the press that the Florida Tomato Committee (FTC) prohibits Procacci Brothers from shipping its UglyRipe™ tomato out of Florida. Plainly stated, FTC regulations do not prohibit the shipment of UglyRipe™ tomatoes. Procacci can and has shipped UglyRipe™ tomatoes out of Florida and we would assume continue to do so, under the minimum quality requirements established for the regulated area of Florida.
America’s consumers are being misled. The FTC does permit the shipment of UglyRipe™ tomatoes out of the state, as well as within Florida. Past inspection data shows 70 percent of inspected UglyRipe™ tomatoes fit for shipment to customers outside the state, with the remaining 30 percent fit for shipping to customers within Florida. It is not the place of the FTC to make business decisions for Procacci as to why the company might choose not to ship UglyRipe™ tomatoes out of Florida.
When handled properly, Florida tomatoes rank high in taste. In fact, taste tests conducted by independent research firm, Rose Research, show two out of three consumers preferring Florida tomatoes to its competitors. Florida’s tomato growers are committed to flavor research and continually invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into breeding programs focused on improving the flavor and nutritional values of Florida tomatoes. The goal is to grow a tomato with superior flavor, with just the right balance of sugars, acids and fruity/floral aromatics, and a higher level of disease-fighting lycopene.
The real barrier to flavorful tomatoes is improper handling. Proper handling of tomatoes is absolutely necessary to maintaining flavor integrity. Refrigeration and chilling kill tomato flavor. Sometimes chilling can occur before the consumer purchases the tomato. Despite many years of educating the public to this effect, unfortunately, 77 percent of consumers continue to believe tomatoes should be kept in the refrigerator.
Thank you for your tomato enthusiasm. We hope that you now have an informed, accurate account of activities as they relate to this product and the FTC.
Sincerely,
Florida Tomato Committee
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