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FACTS
Woman Terrified by Potatoes after Return from Lockdown
Having been gone from her home in Caen, France for three months
to spend mandatory lockdown with her boyfriend, Donna Porée, 22,
returned home in June to find a frightening scene growing in her
kitchen. Turns out, she had nothing to be afraid of, though the sight of
three-foot potato sprouts growing through her shelves and up the walls
gave her a fright when she turned the lights on. “As I opened the front
door, I noticed a strange shape at the back of the kitchen,” she told
The Sun. “As the light was off and shutters down, I didn’t realize it was
the potatoes. It was only after opening the shutters that I took note of
this extraordinary sight. I was terrified at first, but after realizing what
it was, I laughed a lot.” Porée had left a $3 bag of potatoes under the
shelves when she left, not thinking she would return to such a sight.
— thesun.co.uk
Five Cleanest Fruits and Vegetables
The Environmental Working Group recently published its ranking of
the fruits and vegetables that are lowest in pesticide residues, primarily
based on USDA testing. To develop the list, the EWG reviews 48 common,
non-organic fruits and vegetables, including US-grown and imported
items. Topping the list is avocado after the USDA tested 360 avocados and
founder fewer than one percent had pesticide residues. Tests were done
after the skin is peeled, so most pesticides in avocados are removed with
the skin. Coming in at No. 2 is sweet corn, but keep in mind the ranking
does not include glyphosate (Roundup) residue that some corn has been
modified to resist. The FDA has only recently started testing corn for
glyphosate residues. Third on the list is pineapple, another fruit that is
consumed after the pesticide-containing skin is removed. Onions are
fourth after pesticide residues were found on less than 10 percent of
those sampled. Rounding out the top five is the humble papaya.
— healthline.com
Sri Lankan Coir Industry Thrives Despite Pandemic
Due to the growing popularity of coco substrates and the quality of
Sri Lankan coco products, the industry has seen rapid growth that was
hampered by the COVID pandemic. The effects of the lockdown were big,
both for the horticultural supply chain and for the 20,000 people working
in the direct coco husk supply chain, as well as another 100,000 indirect
jobs in Sri Lanka. However, due to the timely intervention of ECAS (Exporter
Association of Coconut husk-based substrates), the industry was running again
within less than two weeks, although production capacities remained lower
due to social distancing and other guidelines. Established in 2008,
ECAS is responsible for almost 95 percent of the coconut husk-based
total exports from Sri Lanka. With these amounts, they are also
responsible for more than 120,000 employment opportunities in
the supply chain, positioning the industry among the top 10 of
foreign exchange earners for Sri Lanka.
— hortdaily.com
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