A new one acre block of glass has been opened this week at Flavourfresh Salads in Lancashire.
The state-of-the-art design was opened by Marks & Spencer salad buyer Peter Ireland and Dr Simon Coupe, the retailer’s salad technologist. The facility incorporates numerous energy saving features, such as thermal screens and sealed gutters, while wide glass and narrow gutters offer maximum light penetration. Hanging gutters also allow for maximum ergonomic work practices.
The relationship between the nurseries and M&S dates back to the 1960s, when Ray Jeffs of L O Jeffs began supplying salads to the retailer from local growers, with air freighted tomatoes form the Canary Islands during the winter.
Jeffs and M&S worked together on such innovations as iceberg lettuce development, Gardeners Delight tomatoes, spinach under glass, vacuum cooling for leaf products and avocado ripening.
Today the Flavourfresh-owned nurseries supply tomatoes and lettuce to M&S through Melrow Salads, a part of Bakkavor.
Ireland and Coupe reportedly commented upon the ‘superb quality’ of tomatoes under the new glass, including Piccolo cherry tomatoes and Baby Sweetheart. Also on the radar are the introduction of Santini on the vine and Tamatoberry, due to be launched by Melrow in time for British Tomato Week in May.
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