The True Value of Organic - CCOF

Member ProfileA Passion for DatesUnited With Earth founder, DaryoushJ. Davidi, Ph.D., has a passion fororganic dates. From the age of sixteen,he has been involved in the organicfruit and nut market. Davidi talkedwith CCOF about this exotic fruit andexplained why so many people haveadded organic dates to their daily diets.Q: You have a Ph.D. in psychology.What made you start selling organicdates?A: I came here in 1987 from Iran.My mother began selling dates in ourneighborhood as a way of supplementingher income. Her small business,Edna’s Dates (now EdnaCo), paid ourway through school. After I graduated,I moved to the Bay Area where I begannoticing that many people were interestedin eating dates, yet there was nota good supply in the produce sectionof the grocery store. I wanted to bringdates out of the shadows and share afruit that has been such a large part ofmy own family and life experience.Q: What sets Medjool dates apartfrom the many other varieties? Whydid you choose this variety?A: The name “Medjool” means royaltyand wealth. They are the Cadillac ofdates. Although there are many kinds ofdates, Medjool has the juicy taste thatpeople are looking for and they alsohave a longer shelf life. Medjool datescan be grown year round, so seasonalityis not an issue. They stay freshfor a long time because their naturalsugar content acts as a preservative.Q: Who do you source your datesfrom?A: I have a very close relationship withmy growers here in California. I haveknown many of these men and womensince I was fifteen; I have grown upwith them. They are out there in hundreddegree temperatures trimming andmaintainingthe trees,doing hardwork on adaily basis.They couldbe growinganything else, yet they have a strongconnection to the dates they grow.It is important to pay respect to mygrowers because the work that theydo is invaluable to my business.They really have been a key factor inmy success.Q: How are Medjool dates grown?A: Medjool trees are either male orfemale. In the old days they used towrap a male tree around the femaletree to reproduce, very romantic.When they begin to develop, the treegrows offshoots that can be cut offand replanted. It takes six years for theMedjool tree to develop fruit. The datepalm can produce fruit for many years,but over time the trees stop producingfruit. Once the palms are “retired” thetree can be used for landscaping. Manyof the ornamental palm trees seen inLas Vegas are retired date palms!Q: You have recently changed thepackaging of your organic dates.What prompted this and howhave customers responded?A: When selling them in bulk, thedates begin to crystallize and lose theirfreshness. We now offer a level onerecyclable container, sealed to lockin the juicy taste as well as to preventsugar crystallization. Packaging alsoallows us to market them to retailersthat wouldn’t normally carry the fruit.I have seen dates in specialty wineshops and even hardware stores!Q: How have you strengthenedyou connection with your retailcustomers and consumers?A: I am also very involved in the packingand shipping, but most importantlydeveloping communication with peopleat local grocery stores. I like to stay intouch with the customers, to ask themwhat they like about dates and answerany questions they may have. This isvery important to me. I have a “Dates101” page on our website, which givespeople information about our companyas well as the fruit that they are buying.12 CCOF Certified Organic Magazine—Winter 2009