Getting it ripe: Wholesale, retail and foodservice strive to deliver ready-to-eat fruit
For produce retail stores and foodservice alike, ripening is a key part of the process of getting desirable produce to consumers. Although it doesn’t benefit shelf life, ripening — or pre-conditioning — delivers fruit ready to eat. After all, soft, ripe avocados or bananas are considerably more appealing than rock-hard products that are still a […]
Freshfel blasts EU Commission’s proposal to drastically cut funding for fresh produce promotions
Freshful Europe drafted a letter and lashed out at the EU Commission this week, saying its proposal to gut the policy budget for agricultural promotions was short-sighted. Not only would the EU Commission plan trim the current outlay of funding by one half – a staggering €281.7 million – but it also would eliminate budgets […]
Why Southern Africa’s focus on ‘premium’ makes it a quality partner in blueberry market
This Q&A features highlights from an interview done with Dane Castle, Blueberry Technical Sales Manager Southern Africa at Planasa, who discusses the state of the Southern Africa blueberry season. For the full interview and charts, go to FreshFruitPortal.com. Could you share insights into the expected volume and quality of the 2024 Southern African Blueberry season? Southern […]
Investing in the future: How to unlock the funding to finance a food system transformation
Currently, an astonishing one-third of all food produced worldwide is either lost or wasted. It’s difficult to overlook the evidence, and most pertinently, the data highlights that our global food system is still far from future-proof. In 48 countries, an estimated 238 million people still experience chronic food insecurity. If we capture even half of […]
Farmers union sees Starmer’s landslide win as potential opportunity for ‘change’
“Change begins now.” Those words, spoken by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer after his overwhelming victory Thursday propelled the Labour Party into power, promise a new path for the nation. They also may provide a silver lining for British farmers, who are collectively looking for that “reset moment.” Reacting swiftly to news of the “change” […]
Norwich company’s non-browning banana receives GMO exempt status in Philippines
UK-based company Tropic Biosciences announced that its non-browning banana has earned non-genetically modified organism exempt status by the Philippines Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry. The GMO banana can now be imported and produced within the Philippines, which is the largest banana exporter in Southeast Asia and second only to Ecuador in the world, though […]
How UK retailers are responding to rising demand for online supermarket shopping
The numbers of consumers turning to online shopping during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was not surprising given lockdowns throughout the UK. However, once the nation fully opened up, it would have been natural for online orders to ebb. That hasn’t happened. Asda reported this week that its online grocery sales last year […]
Colombia cements its status as one of top suppliers of avocados to UK
During the first quarter of 2024, the Hass Avocado Producers and Exporters Corporation of Colombia (CorpoHass) reported significant growth in the industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy. The avocado sector’s input to Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product surged by 150%, representing 1.5% of the national GDP, according to CorpoHass data. Avobook highlights the impact of this […]
