Mandatory Packing Date Announced for Vidalia Onions in 2014

The year 2014 signals a new beginning for the Georgia-grown Vidalia sweet onion, the state’s official vegetable. With the support of Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, the Vidalia Onion Business Council (VOBC) selected Monday, April 21, 2014 as the new mandatory Packing Date to guarantee that no Vidalia onions are packed or shipped prior to the date. The new rule states that the Vidalia onion marketing season shall commence no sooner than 12:01 a.m. EST on the Monday of the last full week of April each year. Vidalia onions shall not be packed or put into commerce prior to the announced packing date. The packing date was put in place to help ensure retailers and consumers receive Vidalia onions with the characteristics that made the onion famous. “Our growers are committed to assuring the consumers that when the famous Vidalia sweet onion is available, they are getting the very best,” says Bob Stafford, director of the VOBC.