Category Archives: HortNews

Greengrocers benefit from plastics backlash

Greengrocers and wholesalers say that they are benefitting as consumers shun plastics and packaging following the television series Blue Planet II.

According to reports, so-called millennials are looking for more sustainably produced produce and want more information about what they are buying. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in millennials coming to buy fruit and veg at the market,” said David Matchett, development manager at Borough Market in London. “They want to connect with their food and see where it comes from – greengrocers and markets can help with that. Millennials are interested in different sustainable diets so they come to ask our traders about it and can get informed. They really care about climate change and come here because we use minimal packaging.

“Food of a higher value is appreciated by this generation who are becoming more aware – you need personal contact with people who know about the food at the greengrocers or the market.”

Greengrocer Grant Fox, of Seasons of England, said, “We have loads of young customers. I would say (millennials) care about seasonal produce and their carbon footprint. 90 per cent of our plants aren’t wrapped in plastic – they’re all loose.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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New fund to tackle farm waste

Scottish Conservatives have said that, if elected, they would establish a new circular Food Producers Fund to support food producers and rural communities.

The money for the new fund would come from unspent money from Scotland’s existing Circular Economy Investment Fund to reduce costs for businesses, while increasing rates of recycling and energy recovery and maximising the value of waste streams. Projects eligible for funding would include on-farm anaerobic digestion, waste hubs, micro-plastic recycling facilities and infrastructure purchasing.

The Circular Economy Investment Fund has so far allocated approximately £5 million even though the total funding available to small and medium sized businesses is £18 million.

Maurice Golden, Scottish Conservative shadow environment secretary said, “Our Scottish Conservative food producers fund would give rural communities and farmers the ability to recycle as close to home as possible. The SNP ban on plastic incineration will leave farmers, particularly those in rural communities, with very few viable options for recycling. The Scottish Conservative plan would remove the barriers to recycling that many farmers and rural communities face.”

Photo caption: Maurice Golden MSP

Photo Credit: Scottish Parliament

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EU renews approval for maleic hydrazide

The European Union (EU) has renewed the approval of the plant growth regulator maleic hydrazide (MH), but industry experts warn that growers will have to take into account new regulatory requirements which will apply to all products containing MH.

According to new EU regulations, MH products are now required to contain lower levels of hydrazine to meet tightening restrictions on metabolites. Most significantly, under EU regulation (2017/1506) crops treated using MH products can no longer be fed to livestock. In the UK, the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) has confirmed that all crop protection products containing MH must now carry on the label the phrase ‘Do not feed to livestock’.

These restrictions apply to all MH products from the authorisation holders from 1 November 2018. However, MH products placed on the market before 1 November 2018 which do not comply with the new requirement (i.e. existing labelled stock) have been allowed a grace period of six months for sale, and a further 12 months for use.

CRD has also requested that authorization holders and industry partners develop and implement a stewardship program to ensure compliance with the restriction and the continued safe use of MH so that product registrations can be maintained.

Photo Credit: Pexels

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IPM Essen to focus on younger audience

International horticultural fair IPM Essen, which will be held in January, has announced that attracting younger consumers will be one of the key themes of the next event.

The organisers say that young, urban (and mostly also affluent) purchasers want healthy, sustainable and regional products, but also have different buying patterns to previous generations. “They no longer buy their plants in a customary nursery but instead order them and obtain information about them using the Internet and the social media channels,” said a statement. “The classic retail nurseries and garden centres are losing these customer groups. How can these consumers be won back? What must the horticultural production and the green retail trade do in order to be noticed?” To answer these questions a series of key presentations on specific days dedicated Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs Days will be held.

“[Speakers] will explain what specific characteristics exist and are worth changing over the production for. Moreover, they will illustrate what that means for the procedures and the marketing in the company; because this is often associated with a rethink for entrepreneurs and employees.”

The Fruit, Vegetable and Herbs Days will take place in the IPM Discovery Centre, the POS experience world at IPM ESSEN. A total of ten lectures are being organised by Haymarket Media and confirmed speakers include Carsten Markus, Brand Manager for Experience Green at Sagaflor and Markus Kobelt, Managing Director of the Lubera Fruit and Berry Tree Nursery.

Photo Credit: IPM Essen – Alex Muchnik/©MESSE ESSEN GmbH

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New name for soft fruit campaign

The Seasonal Berries campaign, which was launched twelve years ago by grower cooperative British Summer Fruits (BSF) to promote year-round berry consumption in the UK, irrespective of produce origin, has been given a new name, brand identity and website.

The campaign will now be called Love Fresh Berries as BSF chairman Nick Marston explained: “We felt that ‘seasonal’ had different permutations and connotations to people. Some people felt it meant British, others felt it didn’t mean winter berries, and given the availability of great-eating fruit from many places around the world through the winter months, we felt it was appropriate to rename the campaign.”

The change of name coincides with seasonal efforts to increase consumption over the winter months. Love Fresh Berries spokesperson and dietician Sophie Medlin said, “We often think of berries as being a summer fruit, but they are available all year round which means that we can still benefit from the nutrients that they contain. Berries are a great source of vitamin C which has been shown to shorten the length of a cold. They also contain important antioxidants and polyphenols which are excellent for our overall health.”

The new Love Fresh Berries campaign can be found online at lovefreshberries.co.uk.

Photo Credit: Nick Youngson, Alpha Stock Images

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Fruit and Vegetable Alliance calls for help for UK horticulture

The Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, the industry organisation established by The Food Foundation in July, has met with Defra minister George Eustice to urge for more government support for the sector.

The Edible Horticulture Roundtable urged the minister to develop a strategy to get British consumers eating seven portions of fresh produce a day, with as much as possible coming from UK sources.

The Fruit and Vegetable Alliance is a diverse group of producer groups and organisations including British Growers, British Summer Fruits, G’s Fresh, NFU, Organic Farmers and Growers, Produce World, the Soil Association and others. At the meeting it was chaired by Jack Ward of British Growers, who said, “The coming together of the industry, charity and Government bodies signals a positive new approach to domestic fruit and vegetable production. By focussing on working together to increase support to the UK fresh produce industry, we can help to ensure that horticulture gets the recognition and support it deserves.”

Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, added, “We all need to eat more fruit and veg to optimise our health and prevent disease, and for that we need a thriving horticulture sector which stimulates consumer demand. Government policy has a critical role to play in ensuring a productive future for British fruit and veg growers and we hope this new engagement with Defra will help secure that future, in the interests of the nation’s health.”

Photo caption: Jack Ward

Photo Credit: Richard Crowhurst

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Soil Association updates standards following review

The Soil Association has revised its organic standards following a major review in 2016, which included input from the public, farmers, expert advisers and the food industry.

The certification body, which claims it has the ‘highest UK organic standards’ said the changes would ensure organic farmers and processors can provide the highest level of protection for the environment, food and livestock in the most straightforward way possible. The updated format is also expected to make it more straightforward for farmers to become certified by the Soil Association.

The updated standards are now available to preview and will come into effect from spring 2019. Dr Benjamin Dent, chair of the Soil Association Standards Board, said, “We believe that the Soil Association’s higher standards are the right standards for organic food and farming in the UK. This has been an extremely thorough, evidence-based review. Our expert committees and consultations have ensured the new standards are practical for our licensees and encourage them to innovate, and that where we are more demanding than the regulations, that this is justified in terms of enhanced impacts on animal welfare and the environment.”

Key changes for farmers include: a number of changes to animal welfare rules, as well as less repetition and the ‘freedom to innovate.’

Daisy Blackhurst, standards impact manager for the Soil Association added, “These revised organic standards mean independent retailers can continue to be assured that when they stock organic products they are helping to support the highest standards of food and farming. For their shoppers, it means supporting the things we know they are concerned about, like protection for the environment, animal welfare and antibiotic resistance.”

Photo Credit: Soil Association

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Bacterial contamination holding back growth of frozen veg sector

Growth of Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) fresh produce, and vegetables in particular, is being held back by consumer perception following a number of food safety issues, according got a new report.

The report by Future Market Insights; IQF Vegetable Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, estimates that the global market for frozen vegetables is worth more than $1,280 million US$ 1,288.3, with almost 16,900 tonnes product being supplied last year. Growth is forecast at around d 4 per cent over the next eight years, with products including potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. However, peas are the fastest growing seller globally with the value of frozen pea products growing by almost 6 per cent a year.

However, the report sounds a note of caution, warning that, “The global demand for IQF vegetables is expected to be inhibited by increasing risk of consuming Listeria monocytogenebacteria, strict regulations that forbid the use of IQF vegetables due to rising occurrence of bacteria and viruses, and fluctuating prices, plus the availability of raw materials.”

The biggest market globally for frozen vegetables is the United States, followed by India, Russia and Western Europe, although the “most lucrative” market is the Middle East and Africa.

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First harvest from UK vertical farm

A new herb producer, based in Scunthorpe, expects to harvest its first crop within the next week according to reports.

Jones Food Company’s vertical farm is designed to produce 400 to 500 tonnes of crop each year including basil, chives, coriander and dill. It is based in a ‘secret’ warehouse near the Lincolnshire town and the crops are handled automatically by a robot known as Frank. In fact there are only four staff, none of whom actually touch the plants.

It’s claimed that the Scunthorpe facility includes more layers of production than other UK ‘vertical farms’ with a total production area of 5,120 sq. m and 7.6 miles of LED lighting, which have been supplied by GE Current and tested by company founder Dr Paul Challinor at his home. The first crop has reportedly already been sold to an anonymous buyer.

Malcolm Yare, horticulture business development manager for GE Current, said, “There’s nearly no human intervention during the whole production cycle. The lighting is at the heart of the system.”

Photo Credit: Jones Food Company

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Dutch greenhouse area continues to decline

The latest information published by Statistics Netherlands shows that the area of greenhouse production in the country is continuing to decline gradually. At the same time the area devoted to outdoor horticulture has risen slightly. In both sectors the number of companies has fallen significantly.

Between 2017 and 2018 the area of greenhouse horticulture reduced by 80 hectares to 9,000 ha and the number of companies in the sector fell by 290 to 3,190. Since the year 2000 the total greenhouse area has dropped almost 15 per cent from just over 10,500 ha while the number of companies has reduced from 11,070.

Edible production decreased from 4,990 hectares to 4,970 hectares, with the largest fall being seen in red peppers (down 40 ha to 700 ha) and vine tomatoes (down 40 hectares to 930 ha). Production of other peppers rose 30 ha to more to 180 ha in 2018) and cherry tomatoes also increased by 50 ha more to a total of 490 ha. In ornamentals notable changes included a 40 ha increase in chrysanthemum cultivation a decrease of 30 ha for lilies.

Open field horticulture increased 820 ha to 94,340 ha and in terms of area the sector has grown 16 per cent since 2000, although over the same period the number of companies has fallen from almost 17,000 to 9,610 in 2018.

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