Amco Produce Inc and Koppert Biological Systems will officially launch a joint new tomato food bio safety website at Fresh Summit 2004. The booth will showcase live see-through beehives and other beneficial insects, mites, and nematodes, which can control harmful insect pests in your greenhouse.

The interactive food bio safety partnership was created to educate in greater detail glasshouse tomato buyers on managing pest insects and mites by using their natural enemies against them. Beneficials are harmless to people, plants, and animals. They are born to hunt, capture, and consume pest insects, instead of using insecticides or herbicides.

Amco Group Farms 40 acres of tomato growing greenhouses, produce and express is one of the largest grower and distributor in Ontario, Canada, which ships tomatoes, peppers and seedless cucumbers across North America. The partnership with Koppert Biological Systems, a market leader in the development and production of biological crop protection and natural pollination, gives Amco greater international potential.

The new website allows users to browse and review the details of the safety assurance program and acts as an interactive open line communicate between consumers and Amco's staff. Users will find profiles of growers and email links that can be used to ask questions about the US Eat Safe programme or simply have question on growing a vegetable or flower garden.

Website users can learn how Amco can track its fresh hydroponic tomato products progress from seed to harvest and how biological parasites and predator insects are a part of the safety assurance programme. "Biological control is not a "quick fix" for when we have an insect problem. The parasites and predator insects take time to work and are expensive, but the results can be worth the wait. When used correctly, beneficial insects provide us effective pest insect control without the use of toxic chemicals." Fausto Amicone, president of Amco Produce, said.

Paul Goodspeed, president of Koppert Biological Systems in Canada, addeed : "Progressive growers such as Amco have experienced the advantages of using biological controls as their number one weapon against plant pests such as whitefly. The benefits not only include a highly effective pest control program, but also worker and consumer safety."

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