Florida Department of Agriculture - Central Florida Ag News

Third-party audits — insuring the cold chain

THIRD-PARTY AUDITORS are independent, industry audit certification bodies that verify all aspects of self-policing and adherence to standards. These audits cost thousands of dollars to engage, disrupt normal business operations, and costs thousands of additional dollars in overtime, “tweaking” systems, and preparation. Third-party audits are not only necessary (and in many cases mandatory by customers), […]

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Florida — and Florida foods — around the world

| State chef creates culinary masterpieces with Gulf seafood at the Olympics | JUSTIN PATRICK TIMINERI, Florida’s culinary ambassador, went to London to promote the state’s seafood at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. “It was a huge success. We got to showcase Florida seafood and other agricultural products,” he says. Timineri whipped up Crispy Pan

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Commissioner’s AgriCorner: Florida should be in control of its own future

In the photos: Left, Rainbow Springs in Dunnellon; center, Blue Spring State Park near Orange City; right, a creek lined with grass in the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest near Lake Wales. A ruling from an independent administrative law judge last month in support of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) proposed water quality

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The impact of Tropical Storm Debby

Caption: On June 27, 2012, the flooding in some areas of Florida was 3 to 4 feet deep, as shown in the photos here. | Assessing the potential devastation to Florida agriculture | In late June, Tropical Storm Debby stalled over Apalachicola Bay for more than 24 hours, unloading several inches of rain on Florida’s

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