Focus on cauliflower with the European project FRUVENH of AOP Gruppo Vi.va
Mitxi
Good year for the quality of the cauliflower increasingly recognized as a health product both in Italy and in the target countries of the project: the Netherlands and Romania.
It is the full season of cauliflowers in Europe and the harvest shows excellent characteristics for quality with a stable supply quantity. Consumption, however, is not brilliant in this first phase of the campaign which started very calmly.
The European production of cauliflower reaches a total of 1,935,000 tons and Italy is the first producer followed by Spain, France and Poland.
In terms of consumption, cauliflower is one of the products with a high health content, with a constant presence on European tables, especially among consumers who are more attentive to the health benefits of products such as, for example, organic or vegan and vegetarian consumers.
In Italy the 2020 production has reached 365,000 tons and, certainly, Aop Gruppo Viva plays an important role for this vegetable with the productions of Canova, for the organic concentrated in Romagna and Puglia and the productions of Op Codma in Marche region, high specialization for brassicas.
The Group’s production starts in October and arrives until March with optimal characteristics from a product point of view thanks to the climatic conditions. An excellent quality cauliflower must have a white and compact internal flower, covered and protected by the leaves that protect it from moisture and consequent rot.
Cauliflower can be on the market even 12 months a year thanks to summer transplants with harvest in late spring or spring transplants with summer harvest. We try to change the experience of the consumer, especially Italian, who considers cauliflower a winter product only. There is the possibility of expanding the opportunities for consumption by changing the moments of the transplant even if this type of operation is very expensive in terms of water and electricity needs.
On the market front, Riccardo Pazzaglia, CODMA’s sales manager, highlights a campaign that started a bit in slow motion, especially due to the close link between the consumption of cauliflower and colder temperatures, which have not yet occurred in Europe. «Codma», Riccardo Pazzaglia declares, «sells cauliflower throughout Europe, with varieties of great organoleptic quality, thanks to the typical production area of the Marche region which also offers, in the final phase of the campaign, the Fano cauliflower, particularly appreciated for its typicality.»
« The difficulties of the year », Pazzaglia emphasizes, « are mainly related to the increase in the costs of raw materials and the technical means necessary for cultivation. We are talking about increases that exceed, at times, 30% and that are not recognized in the sale phase. »
« The problem, » he concludes, « is generalized and I think it needs to be tackled collectively because it is putting producers in great difficulty ».
Due to its taste and health characteristics, cauliflower is one of the protagonists of Fruit and Veg.: Natural Health!, the European project of the AOP Vi.Va. now in its second year of activity which aims to promote European Union fruit and vegetable products which are characterized by high organoleptic and nutritional quality, together with the importance of food safety and a balanced and natural diet in Italy, Netherlands and Romania.
From a nutritional point of view, cauliflower is characterized by an optimal balance of components, low caloric content and the presence of high concentrations of sulforaphane, a phytochemical complex recognized by various scientific evidences as a natural antitumor.
All information regarding use in the kitchen, nutritional intake and its characteristics are available on the project website: www.fruvenh.it
