OCR Text |
Show Thursday. November 15. 1979. THK HKRALI). Provo. A 4HD7tZ Itah-Pa- ge 1 fry, m -- . I New Way to Preserve Foods WASHINGTON .lar1and scientists tlPI Iniversitv of have developed a new method to preserve raw or partially processed foods which is substantially more energy efficient than canning or freezing foods Foods treated by the process can be kept fresh at room temperatures for months The GASPAK process, developed by Arnihud Kramer, a food science professor, involves putting a food like sliced apples in a chamber and removing all air. Then the food is treated with gases like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide to inhibit bacterial growth and deterioration Finally, the treated food is packaged in a germ-frecontainer filled with gas. In two years of work. Kramer has worked most ly with potatoes and apples But preliminary work has been done with beef patties mushrooms, ?E e strawberries GREEN CROP of frogs for gourmet eating is the product of Scott Stifal's farm in Casey, III. salad mixtures, green beans, grapes, chopped lettuce and sliced peaches Tests have indicated the food samples were well preserved and palatable after 30 days and 250 Stifal shows one of his products ,0 son Shawn, five. days Kramer said his method could keep food fresh at room temperature in warehouses, stores and homes. The Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station estimated that the process could result in an 80 percent savings of energy between the farmer's field and the consumer's table The research shows that only half as much energy is needed for the GASPAK process than for freezing and canning Researchers estimated energy consumed in processing, marketing and home preparation of GASPAK produce was 7 2 BTl"s per pound, compared with 14.000 BTl' s for canned or frozen products Kramer estimated that the GASPAK process itself would save at least 45 percent energy com pared with canning and freezing But he said the estimate is conservative because some of the experimental GASPAK equipment was inefficient More energy could be saved in transporting foods because GASPAK produce would nol have to be refrigerated 'Green Crop' Difficult To Produce CIVII SAVE 20 TO 40 ON ANY SUlTT IN 8TOCGC: TURKEY DAYS IN BUDGET MENSWEAR - Like most other farmers. CASEY, 111. (UPI) Scott and Cheryl Stifal raise a green cop. And like some other farmers, the Stifals are finding it difficult to make a profit. But that's where the similarity ends. The couple believe their frog farm "El Froggo is the only one in Illinois and one of a Estates" very few in the United States. Scott Stifal said he will give the venture just one more year and if he doesn't start to see some money coming in instead of just going out. he will give up the business. "I would hate to let it go because I've worked so hard at it," said Stifal as he leaned over a metal fence surrounding one of the 10 pits where his frogs are raised. "It's just a hobby right now. But hopefully, we'll turn this into a moneymaking proposition." The basic problem, Stifal said, has been the last two winters. Most of the frogs, which hibernate in the mud during the winter, have either suffocated from lack of oxygen because of the snow, ice and slush on top of their ponds or died from "Aeromonas hydro-philaa virus in all untreated water to which frogs become vulnerable when they're under stress. For the past two years, Stifal said, almost the entire crop of frogs has been lost. However, he has a plan for this winter he hopes will help the frogs sur- FREE TURKEY WHEN YOU SAVE ON BEST DRESSING Start with your choice of every suit and sport-coin stock. Look at outerwear - for ski trails e to traveling. Add the right shirts, ties, slacks, jeans. Any Budget Menswear purchase applies toward the $125 total that gets lb. turkey. Limit 1 per customer. you a free at world-wid- ," 12-1- 4 vive. Stifal plans to drill a hole through the ice and pump enough water underneath to leave one foot of air space. Then, he will force oxygen into the air space with air lines. "I'm hoping that will work. If it doesn't, I quit," he said. If he is able to raise a full crop of adult frogs, Stifal said he will sell the creatures either to restaurants for frogs' legs or to science for research. Last year, the couple had to turn down a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for 0 30 frogs a month for four years at pet frog. In addition, Stifal said, an Indiana firm, Wabash Packing, has promised to buy all the frogs the couple can supply. "Believe me, if we can raise them, the market is there," he said. The Stifals estimate they have invested between $8,000 and $10,000 so far in their frog farming venture and calculate it costs between $1 and $2 to feed one frog from the time the egg is hatched to the time of sale. The Stifals' frog pits measuring about 3V2 feet are located deep, 8 to 10 feet wide and 72 feet long behind their mobile home just outside of Casey. The first step for raising the frogs involves skimming the frog eggs from the top of the pits during May and June and placing them in shallow concrete pits of warm, clean water inside a metal shed. Within three days, Stifal said, the eggs will have creatures. In about hatched into tiny, ribbon-lik- e three weeks, they advance to the tadpole pit. The adult frogs live in still another pit, swimming around and poking their heads out occasionally to look for a handout usually crayfish. Stifal said food that moves. Sometimes they eat will only frogs CORDUROY SUITS NEW FALL SUITS A &s $8.00-$10.0- eat each other. The Casey-bre- d frogs turn from tadpole to baby frog in about 2Vi months while wild ones usually need almost a year to make the transition. Stifal credits a special food supplement for the quick growth. Raising the frogs has been exercise in bravery for Cheryl Stifal who has overcome her fear of the slimy, d critters. Although she has never tasted frog legs, Mrs. Stifal said she now has no problem holding the frogs. The Stifals became interested in raising frogs about five years ago after reading an article about a frog farm in Texas, and later answered an advertisement and traveled to Missouri to see a farm in operation. Conservation officials have told Stifal that no one has ever discovered a way to raise frogs profitably. big-eye- Farm Production Expenses Increase - Farm production ex(UPI) penses are expected to increase about 11 percent next year, following a 16 percent rise in 1979, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. Rapid price increases in fertilizer and fuel expenditures and moderate increases in the cost of labor and machinery will be among the causes for the increase, department officials said. Energy costs may take the biggest bite out of farmer's net income. Weldon Batorn, director of the department's energy office, said, "If farmers purchase the same amounts of petroleum fuels and electricity as in 1979, they may be paying $2.5 billion more for their energy input in 1980.'' His prediction is based on the assumption that petroleum prices will rise 25 percent and electricity rates will increase 8 percent next year. "In the long run, higher energy costs will be translated Into higher consumer food prices," he said. "Ultimately, most of the $2.5 billion additional fuel costs would be passed to consumers and would represent roughly a 1 percent increase in retail food prices." WASHINGTON Reg. $100 vesteds in three cuts and colors. good-lookin- g Reg. $120 solids and stripes with all the right tailoring. FINE WOOL SUITS Reg. $175 to $185 wool blends, hand detailed. and CLASSIC WOOL SPORTCOATS 69.99 to 79.99 Reg. $90 to $100 tweeds and ringbones in rich colors. her- TOPCOATRAINCOATS 49.99 to 99.99 Reg. $65 to $125 water repellent shell, zip-o- ut lining. WARM QUILTED PARKAS 24.99 to 59.99 Reg. $35 to $80 choice of famous labels, styles and colors. ft y mi - J 33 |