innovation

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Israel’s Aurora Seedless Papaya wins Fruit Logistica 2015 Innovation Award

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Trade visitors at last week’s Fruit Logistica fair in Berlin chose the “Aurora Seedless Papaya” as winner of the Fruit Logistica 2015 Innovation Award (FLIA). It was selected out of a field of 10 finalists, all of which were on display at the event.

 

From Aviv Flowers Packing House Ltd. in Israel, “Aurora Seedless Papaya” has a delicate fragrance and firm, full-flavoured pulp. The product of natural selection and crossing, its target markets include the EU,, Switzerland and Canada.

 

  

The second place FLIA winner was the « Lemoncherry » tomato.



Developed by BelOrta, a growers’ cooperative based in Belgium, this yellow, sweet-tasting cherry vine tomato features a distinctive, lemony aroma.

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Third place honours went to the « DIY Fresh Packs » produced by Bakker Barendrecht (part of the UNIVEG Group) in the Netherlands.

 

These products are designed for consumers who want to use fresh ingredients to prepare a full meal, soup or side dish for four people.

 

Fruit Logistica’s showcase of fresh product ideas

Fruit Logistica global brand manager Gérald Lamusse described the ten finalists for the award as “outstanding new fruit and vegetable industry products and services that are driving new trends in the international marketplace. »

The other finalists were :

  • « Eye-Catcher » – A product display system for crates at the POS, from Cabka Group GmbH, Germany;

  • « FC 15 Fruit Chunker » – A cutting machine for pineapple and melons, from Atlas Pacific Engineering, Inc., USA;

  • « Holzdekor-RPC » – Reusable plastic crates with a natural wood look from Polymer Logistics, Germany;

  • « Low Carbon rPETeCo » – Packaging material consisting of 90% recycled plastic bottles, from Holfeld Plastics Ltd, Ireland;

  • « Portable Nondestructive Fruit Quality Meter » – A portable quality-control measuring device, from Sunforest Co. Ltd., South Korea;

  • « Regal’in™ Apple » – A new apple variety, from Regal’in Europe, France;

  • « UP-8000 » – A peeling machine for carrots, cucumbers, white radishes and other long vegetables, from Hepro GmbH, Germany.

Lamusse said the award is “the industry’s most coveted distinction” and attracts huge international media attention.

 

See more photos at the Fruit Logistica site.

 
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Patent applications reveal ways to improve tomato production

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Various inventions promising improved tomato production are covered in patent applications recently published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. In this small sample we look at a vine tomato that stays firm longer, tomatoes with higher sugar content, and greenhouse lighting helping insects find – and thus pollinate – flowers more easily.

Vine tomato with longer shelf life

California’s Arcadia Biosciences seeks a patent for “tomatoes that soften more slowly post-harvest due to non-transgenic alterations in an expansin gene.” In its patent application it explains new tomato varieties are needed that have the desirable qualities of vine-ripened fruit (in taste, texture and colour) but reduced spoilage. However it also notes some consumers don’t like genetically modified foods.

It says it has a solution with its (non–GMO) method, which is the product of a human-induced mutation in a tomato gene – LeExp1 – linked to fruit softening.

Tomatoes with higher sugar content

Tomatoes with improved fruit quality, such as increased levels of starch, soluble solids, and/or sugars are described in an application from the governing board (Regents) of the University of California. It says the ripe fruit has sugar levels (fructose and glucose) at least 10% higher, usually at least 30% higher, than control plants.

The method for which the patent is being sought involves producing plants that deliver green fruit with increased chloroplast development. This is achieved via a rise in what is known as GLK (Golden2-like) activity in the green fruit and results in an increase in the products of photosynthesis and carbon fixation, such as starch and eventually soluble sugars, in ripe fruit.

Putting flowers in their best light

And from Finland comes an application for an invention using special lighting in greenhouses to enhance insect pollination of plants, such as the tomato.

Valoya, a Helsinki-based provider of energy efficient LED lights, says the best effect is achieved when the emission peaks of the lighting have a high reflectivity from flowers and/or high sensitivity in the insect vision. “The insects can see the flowers better, and therefore find them more easily, which increases the efficiency of pollination by the insects.”

It says the method reduces insect mortality and increases pollination efficiency and photosynthetic growth, thereby improving the productivity of the plant cultivation.