Monthly Archives: March 2017

Free summer school for aspiring crop protection students

BBSRC is funding a week long Crop Protection Summer School (CROPPS) in July at Harper Adams University for undergraduates in their first or second year at universities in the UK or Ireland.

There are 15 places available on the course, in which participants will be able to immerse themselves in the areas of entomology, plant pathology, weed science, nematology, applied ecology, fieldwork and networking.

Professor Simon Leather, one of the event organisers, said, “Each day during the week we’ll be looking at a different aspect related to crop protection. There’ll be a large emphasis on practical experience; going out into the field and doing practical lab work. There’ll be some lecture-style sessions, but the majority will be hands-on.”

There are just 15 places available and the deadline for applications is 7 April 2017. The application form can be found here. For more information, contact sleather@harper-adams.ac.uk.

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Tesco increases frozen lines to reduce food waste

Tesco has introduced a new range of frozen prepared produce of four items which it says are on-trend but tricky to prepare. These include pomegranate, watermelon, coconut and beetroot.

The retailer helps that the move will reduce waste by allowing consumers to use only what they need and keep the rest in the freezer. In the last year demand for bags of ready prepared frozen fruit slices at Tesco has soared by 35 per cent. The supermarket’s frozen smoothie range, which includes veg and fruit mixes, has seen a nearly 100 per cent increase in sales in the last 12 months.

Tesco frozen food buyer Marianne Aitken commented, “Our new frozen range is a delicious and hassle free way to help assemble that eye-catching dish.” All of the new frozen products come in easy to use re-sealable packs. The beetroot and coconut are already diced while the watermelon is in chunks and the pomegranate is seeded.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons.

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Consumers will buy wonky fruit & veg if cheap enough

According to the results of a new survey by retail marketing specialist Blue Yonder, consumers are more willing to buy misshapen and so-called ‘wonky’ fruits and vegetables, but they expect a price discount.

The research, which was carried out amongst 2,000 shoppers in the UK, USA, France and Germany, found that 73 per cent  would consider buying fresh produce which had natural flaws, but 90 per cent said that they expected retailers to charge less for them than they would for regular fruit.

Of the four countries surveyed, France was the most accepting of misshapen produce with 93 per cent of those questioned saying they would buy it if there was a discount. However, less than half of Brits said they would buy wonky veg, with or without a price discount.

Matt Hopkins, retail industry director for Blue Yonder, said: “Discounting imperfect produce helps overcome the waste problem in the supply chain. However, for it to have a real impact on waste reduction, retailers need to understand what demand will be for products – wonky or not – to accurately stock the right amount of ‘imperfect’ versus ‘perfect’ fruit and vegetables.

“It would be pointless to reduce waste in the supply chain, only to see retailers having to throw it away from supermarket and distribution centre shelves.

“The findings also indicate that accurate markdown pricing is needed to successfully sell imperfect fruit and vegetables. Pricing ‘imperfect fruit and veg’ versus ‘perfect fruit and veg’ will add to the complexity and number of decisions in a world where grocery is already struggling to keep pace. The use of advanced machine learning algorithms for the best decisions, delivered daily, is important for survival and success.”

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Lidl targets children with veg range

Discount retailer Lidl has launched a new range of fun sized vegetables specifically targeted at children. The new trial has been launched following the success of the supermarket’s existing range of fruit and veg aimed at kids.

The new products include Mini Broccoli Trees; Cauliflower Clouds; Unicorn Carrots and mini Romanesco marketed at Romanesaurus Rex. Lidl claims it is the ‘the first British supermarket to introduce a range of fresh fruit and vegetables that are specifically targeted towards children, helping families with the ongoing challenge of inspiring younger generations to eat their greens and maintain a healthy lifestyle.’

Emma Byrne, Lidl’s Head of Fresh Produce, commented, “At Lidl we’re always looking at new and innovative ways to make parent’s lives a little easier. Following the success of our fun sized fruit and veg range, we made the decision to take the additional step of introducing new product names and designs that are geared towards getting kids to eat quality, healthier food.”

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Plimsoll says value of fresh produce businesses increasing

The latest report on companies in the fresh produce sector by business analysts Plimsoll shows that many of them have increased in value by as much as 10 per cent over the last year.

However, the report also rated 182 of the 1132 companies studied as ‘Danger’.  The authors say that 9 out of 10 previously failed Fresh Produce companies had been given the same Danger rating two years prior to their demise. However, with 562 companies rated as strong and 111 as good, it is not all bad news.

Plimsoll also says that 334 companies are ripe for takeover and 303 are making a loss. Report author David Pattison of Plimsoll commented, “In all, we have identified 86 businesses that have increased in value by at least 10 per cent and their financial performance adds to the belief that the overall market is continually improving.

“Having said that, we have seen 88 businesses that have seen their value fall by over a third and it is clear that, although the market is improving, it is still a challenging landscape.”

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Waitrose launches UK salad bag

A new state-of-the-art 1.5 hectare greenhouse complex in Evesham is helping retailer Waitrose to stock British salad leaves all year round.

The new glass, which has been developed by Wingland Foods uses efficient LED lighting, heating and watering, reducing the environmental impact.  It takes 35-40 days to grow the salad in these conditions compared to up to 16 weeks in the field so the yield is almost three times higher over the course of a 12 month period.

The first salad to be produced is Waitrose’s British Chard & Salad Leaves bag, making the supermarket the first supermarket of the year to introduce a UK grown salad bag, available three months earlier than the usual May-October season.

Nicola Waller, Waitrose Head of Fresh Produce, said, “This launch is a result of our long term planning and it’s great to see the first of our British salad bags hitting the shelves so early in the season. Developing this innovative new way of growing salad leaves means that we can source from the UK all year round, going even further in our commitment to British farming.”

The salads are also grown to LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Marque Standards.

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Use of true potato seed gets EU boost

The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (Seeds and Propagation section) of the European Commission has approved a so-called ‘temporary experiment’ with derogatory rules on the marketing of True Potato Seed.

Potatoes are currently exclusively propagated by tubers, however, innovative technologies now allow propagation by seeds and this has a number of significant benefits, including speeding up the multiplication of varieties which are currently reliant on tuber production.

The new technology for the production of true seed relies on the crossing of uniform, inbred lines, allowing quicker introduction of one, or even several beneficial new traits as F1 hybrids, and the use of True Potato Seed for faster propagation; one potato plant can easily produce 1000 seeds.

The total value of seed potatoes produced in the EU is estimated at €1 billion per year. New technologies will potentially have a large impact on trade; a small bag of 30 grams of True Potato Seed corresponds to 2,500 kilograms of seed tubers, which are also prone to losing quality during long transport. Current legislation in the EU does not regulate the marketing of true seed of Solanum tuberosum. The temporary experiment, which will last seven years, will help in establishing the requirements for this material so that both producers and users can maximally benefit from this innovative technology.

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‘Earliest ever’ English strawberries for Tesco

Lancashire will be the first area of the UK to harvest strawberries this year after family run Medlar Fruit Farms has managed to produce an early crop of Driscoll’s Lusa which is expected to be on sale in selected stores from today (28 February).

Tesco believes it will be one of the earliest ever arrivals for Britain’s favourite home-grown fruit, having been helped by a mild winter and the recent warmer temperatures. The greenhouse crop from Medlar will be supplemented next week by the first production from Herefordshire-based S&A Produce.

Tesco’s strawberry buyer Henry Maulik said, “This brilliant but rare opportunity for customers to enjoy English strawberries so early in the year, is great news for shoppers. Helped by the recent warmer temperatures, this is the first time in ages that UK strawberries grown for supermarkets have been picked in February.”

Medlar managing director Steve Bell added, “We’re pleased to have been able to put Lancashire well and truly on the map for strawberries. The Driscoll’s Lusa variety is hugely popular with customers because of their fantastic flavour. We’ve been working with Tesco to extend the British season, so that shoppers can enjoy them for even longer.”

Medlar Fruit Farms expects to produce strawberries right through until the end of the season in November.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

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