YEAR ROUND GOAL FOR SWEET SENSATION PEARS

Sweet Sensation pears have moved a step closer to year-round availability with the first harvest of fruit in Argentina.

Rights holder Licensed Varieties Editors (LVE) announced the development at Fruit Logistica in Berlin last week, where it also launched a new brand identity featuring a new logo, slogan and marketing campaign.

The Argentinean harvest – the first in the southern hemisphere – comes on the back of a wide-scale planting programme across the globe, with a large acreage having been planted in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK.

To help the rollout LVE has designed a Variety Platform for Sweet Sensation to boost collaboration and knowledge exchange among growers.

SOUR LEMONS

A new citrus variety is set to have the foodservice sector scrapping to get hold of the limited amount of produce currently available.

The Mayan Meyer Lemon, currently being grown on a trial basis in Guatemala, is a cross between a traditional lemon and a tangerine. The fruit is an easy peeler and can be eaten like a tangerine but still has a refreshing sharpness to it, somewhat like a grapefruit.

One of the attractions of the fruit, launched last week at Berlin trade fair Fruit Logistica by exporters Frutesa, is that the skin is edible and can be used as a garnish for salads or cocktails.

CITY FARMING PROJECT CLAIMS INNOVATION GONG

The Staay Food Group has won the 2013 Fruit Logistica Innovation Award, with UK product Flower Sprouts coming in third.

In a vote by trade visitors to the event in Berlin, the Dutch business won for its custom greenhouses with specialised LED lighting that allows seeds to be cultivated into young plants within 35 days, in otherwise infertile environments and independently of their natural season. Pesticides are not required in Staay’s sustainable City Farming production system, which could be a solution to the problem of feeding a growing global population as the world’s arable land area shrinks.

Staay was one of 10 businesses nominated for the award by a panel of experts. Second place went to Elbe-Obst Vertriebs for its Apfel-Schiffchen, apple slices that use a drying technique to guarantee crispness and prevent browning. Tozer Seeds of the UK came third with its Flower Sprout, a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale.

LIGHTNING QUICK ASPARAGUS

The Greenery has launched a microwaveable ready-to-steam white asparagus pack.

Aimed at consumers who are too busy or unsure of how to cook white asparagus, the cook-in-the-pack concept features pre-peeled white asparagus stems, packaged in a special foil for microwave steaming in minutes.

BRAZIL'S BIG PUSH

The Brazilian region of Jaíba has unveiled a marketing campaign to put the area’s fruit firmly on the world map.

The region specialises in unusual varieties such as the silver banana, Tahiti lime, Palmer mango and Formosa papaya, and officials hope to promote the fact that lower chemical usage is needed to produce the fruit due to the weather. Jorge Luis de Souza, president of producers’ association Abanorte, also revealed growers are in discussions with UK supermarkets over getting the Palmer mango – which features a soft, sweet creamy texture and appeals to children – listed in this country. —

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