UglyRipe

The "UglyRipe" tomato was the innovation of Mr. Joe Procacci, the Thomas Edison of the produce industry as I like to call him. Mr. Procacci is a well respected gentleman who is quite dynamic and full of enthusiastic energy in the produce business. He loves tomatoes and he enjoys making them taste good. So he developed the UglyRipe tomato that looks like an old fashioned backyard garden Heirloom variety just loaded with rich, red, juicy flavor.

The UglyRipe is so called for its wrinkles and misshapening appearance. After all, that's what backyard garden tomatoes look like, don't they? But the taste of an UglyRipe tomato is absolutely out-of-this-world.

However, Florida agriculture will not allow it to leave the state because it is claimed to be "too wrinkled". A Florida committee claims the tomato standards rule states that the UglyRipe must be as round as other Florida regular tomatoes before they can be shipped out of state. The round tomato is one that marks Florida's good standard policy.

No.1 tomatoes are firm, smooth-skinned, almost perfectly round.

No.2 tomatoes are round, but onlt slightly rough.

No.3 tomatoes are a bit misshapen and blemished.

The Florida Tomato Committee requires that 90% of tomatoes in any shipment grown in Florida and sold outside the state be at least a No. 2 grade.

Under this circumstance and unfortunately, the UglyRipes cannot be shipped out of Florida for consumers to enjoy.

We say, phooey! Why not? Why hold such a tasty tomato hostage from consumers?

We've eaten the UglyRipes and never tasted a tomato so outstanding. If you ever have the chance to try one, we know you'll agree with us that these tomatoes need to be made available for consumers like you and I.

Please show your support for the UglyRipe tomato by letting us know how you feel about this situation. Better yet, drop a note in the mail to Mr. Joe Procacci and let him know you are behind him and in favor of having them in your local supermarket.

Send a note to either:

Ron Pelger                                                         Joe Procacci
RonProCon Power-Produce                     or      Procacci Brothers Sales Corp.
59 Damonte Ranch Pkwy-Suite B-300              3655 S. Lawrence St.
Reno, Nevada 89521                                         Philadelphia, PA 19148-5610