Navels v. Valencias

When Californians suffer a fruit-killing frost, as last week, Floridians quietly gloat. When Floridians suffer a tree-destroying hurricane, as a year ago last autumn, Californians gloat. But until this winter growers of California navel oranges and growers of Florida Valencia oranges have discreetly avoided talking down the other fellows' fruit in northern cities where the chief customers of both live. The California Fruit Growers Exchange broke this discreet merchandising convention this winter by advertising flatly in newspapers and magazines, on streetcar cards and billboards: "Sunkist navel oranges are 22% richer in vitamin C [anti-scurvy, anti-colds] than Florida oranges."

Last week Dr. Morris Fishbein, writing "s chairman of the American Medical Association's powerfully censorious Committee on Foods as well as editor of the A. M. A.'s Journal, scolded the Californians as indecent exaggerators. Declared Dr. Fishbein: "All . . . varieties of the orange are excellent sources of vitamin C. To direct attention to slight differences in vitamin C content with the view of capitalizing them is both misleading and contrary to the interests of the public. Such unfortunate publicity tends to defeat the efforts of nutritionists and physicians to educate the public about the importance of the various fruits and other foods that go to make up our diet. It does not reflect credit on the large California Fruit Growers Exchange."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.