N.J. ag board calls for truth in "locally grown" produce

By Edward Colimore, Philadelphia Inquirer

Locally Grown. Those familiar words turn up on printed and homemade signs at produce stands and markets across New Jersey.

They're supposed to mean that the produce comes from nearby fields, that it's part of the state's vaunted Jersey Fresh brand - not trucked in hundreds of miles from Georgia or North Carolina.

Concerns that some out-of-state produce is being mischaracterized have prompted the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture to call for a rule placing limits on what can legitimately be described as "Locally Grown."

The board, the policy-making body of the Agriculture Department, has proposed that items promoted as local come from farms in the Garden State or within 30 miles of its borders.

"We're not against any entrepreneur selling produce from out of state," said Rob Swanekamp Sr., president of the eight-member board. "But if the peaches are from Georgia and the tomatoes are from North Carolina, label them that way.

"It's truth in advertising; that's exactly what it is," he said. "The term locally grown has been applied incorrectly." The proposal "is a way of curbing that practice to make sure that state farmers have a good, fair chance to market their product."

States including Maryland, Connecticut, and Vermont have similar rules, state agriculture officials said.

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