Health Update

Plum burgers, turkey-plum franks, raisin barbecue sauce, yogurt-covered cherries. These are just a few of the menu items the federal government tried out on public school students recently in the hope of finding new uses for the nation's surplus fruit and vegetable crops.

The most recent taste testing was held last month at Van Ness Elementary School in Washington, where 20 students sampled a new crop of recipes, while federal officials recorded their reactions.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's marketing division started the product tests in spring 2000 with students at Van Ness. ( "USDA Goes to the Source to Test Latest Menu Creations," May 31, 2000.) That was followed by similar events in two Virginia schools and two schools in the Los Angeles...