Rustler Produce, one of the UK's leading suppliers of top quality onions and leeks, is working with the Supasweet onion consortium to bring the tear free onion to market, with first arrivals available in store this month.

Jason Burgess, managing director explained: 'We have been working with other members of the consortium for the past five years to produce a sweet onion that is consistently mild, crunchy and deliciously sweet.

'The Supasweet fulfils this criteria and is a highly versatile onion that can be eaten raw in salads, sandwiches and dips or slightly cooked as pizza toppings and quiche fillings.' The market for a sweet onion was recognised and acted upon following research carried out in the UK where consumers showed a keen interest in a sweet crunchy onion.

An onion that produced 'no tears' when peeled was also perceived by consumers to be a good thing with ninety four percent of home trial testers reporting that their eyes only slightly watered, or didn't water at all, when cutting Supasweet.

Over three quarters of those taking part in the trials said that they would probably or definitely purchase this variety in the future. The onions, covered in the Journal (July 11) have caused a stir in the national media this week.

These findings also came through in recent consumer work undertaken by Rustler, which clearly demonstrated the need for new varieties and more information.

'There is huge potential for Supasweet to be sold alongside traditional onion lines within the UK. In America, sweet onions such as Vidalia, Texas 1015 and Walla Walla have grown their domestic market by over 20 per cent whilst still maintaining high levels of traditional onions', added Burgess.

'We strongly believe that with the right investment and backing, this variety of sweet onion will become as popular as its counterparts in the US', he concluded.

Other members of the sweet onion development committee sponsoring Supasweet are Bedfordshire Growers Ltd, FB Parris & Son, G's Marketing Ltd, Moulton Bulb Company Ltd and Rustler Produce Ltd.

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