Delegates at Syngenta's tomato conference, in Alicante last week, were invited to 'breakout' and discuss what changes they thought were necessary for the tomato industry to truly satisfy the consumer.

Split into respective countries or regions, the nine groups share some common ground, but the UK participants had their own views. Here is a synopsis of an interesting hour of round-table discussion involving some of the UK's leading players.

• There is still no level playing field in Europe - if there were, no problems would exist in the marketplace.

• The UK is 'years ahead' in retail terms, which encourages suppliers to this market to raise standards. The catch-up process in Europe is bound to happen and will increase quality and safety levels for EU consumers.

• The consumer mass media was discussed at length. The issue of safety, it was felt, can be over-stressed and 'the only message the consumer really wants to hear or read is that there are no pesticides, not that they have been reduced'.

• To target the national press, consumers' associations are a good route in. The industry should 'tell the truth and be consistent - if it has nothing to hide'.

• Lack of branding is a problem. Consumers can 'trust big brands'.

• The under 30s in the UK 'do not know what to do with a tomato'. More effort to educate consumers on useage and 'how tomatoes can fit into their day' would go a long way.

• A culture change is needed and riding on the back of initiatives such as the Bangor Project and 5-a-day is the way forward. Tomatoes have a good story to tell and placing education material - such as the TGA's educative website - in the correct channels is key.

• The proliferation of choice for consumers, brought up in another session as a problem, is not an issue as long as in-store communication is precise and informative.

• There is a great opportunity for tomatoes in the snacking industry - prepared tomatoes with dressings for instance.

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