Himachal strawberries reap fruits of love

With Valentine's Day just round the corner, Himachal Pradesh, famous for producing strawberries, is flooded with orders for the heart-shaped fruit.

Share

Peach or Nectarine and Blueberry Crumble With Quinoa-Oat Topping

Peaches or nectarines and blueberries make a beautiful color combination and a nice package of nutrients. The peaches contain vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, beta-carotene and potassium, while the blueberries have anthocyanins, compounds that some scientists believe may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Summer Berry Ice Cream

Time: 10 minutes, plus churning and chilling
1 1/4 cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries combined)
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, as needed
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons vodka.
1. In a bowl, mash berries with a fork or potato masher until just slightly chunky.
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, bring cream to a simmer with 1/3 cup sugar and the salt. Taste berries and if they are very tart, add 2 tablespoons sugar to saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vodka and place in refrigerator or in an ice bath to chill.
3. When cold, pour mixture into ice cream machine. Add berries and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to a container and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, or in refrigerator for 15 to 30.
Yield: About a quart.

Del Monte Fruitini hits Tesco stores

Group says that fruit bag range will be targeting school lunchboxes in the run up to the UK's new 2010/11 school year

Del Monte has announced that it is launching a new range of fruit products through an exclusive promotional campaign with UK retailer Tesco, in a bid to engage a younger audience and target school lunchboxes.

The new range of Del Monte Fruitini bags, which the group said would "reinvigorate" the fresh fruit category, are available in four varieties; Crinkly Apple Slices, Scrummy Grapes, Juicy Pineapple 'Slithers' and Luscious Melon Bites.

To back the launch of the range, Del Monte has secured an on-pack promotion with London's largest family restaurant, the Rainforest Café, offering 20 children a selection of prizes including the chance to attend a VIP Del Monte Fruitini event in October.

Del Monte noted that the Fruitini range presented a "significant opportunity" to Tesco as parents actively seek healthy, convenient snacks for children to take to school, amid growing awareness of health and obesity.

"The all encompassing fruit range provides customers, whatever their age, with an even greater choice for healthy refreshment throughout the day," said Tesco's fresh produce buyer Lance Canavan. "By ensuring that the new range is stocked alongside the best-sellers in the chillers, we hope to increase its sales potential."

The retailer will back the range in store through an initiative during August and September, which will see discount coupons on offer at point-of-sale and incentives for parents to purchase the packs during the 'back to school' period.

"Mums are looking for quality, convenient and nutritious products from a brand they can trust and as Britain's number one fruit brand Del Monte is well positioned to deliver this," added James Harvey, managing director at Del Monte UK. "The Del Monte Fruitini range offers kids a convenient way of eating fruit and what's more, they're absolutely delicious!."

The Fruitini range is stocked exclusively in Tesco stores across the UK, priced at £0.43 (€0.53) per pack.

Amazon begins selling fruit and veg online

Internet giant's German arm establishes new sales portal to sell and distribute wide range of groceries including fresh produce

International online retailer Amazon has begun selling groceries – including fresh fruit and vegetables – to shoppers in Germany.

The new online ordering service, which brings together products not only sold by Amazon.de itself but also a number of third-party distributors including web-based grocery specialists Froodies and Natur.com, started selling food and drinks via its website today (Thursday, 1 July).

Customers visiting the portal can choose from over 30,000 products in total, divided into 25 categories.

As well as fresh fruit and vegetables, the cyber-shoppers can are fill their virtual baskets with meat and fish, bread, sweets, snacks, cereals, wine, coffee and tea.

"The products are available from Amazon.de, as well as from more than 60 providers on the Amazon.de platform," a spokesperson for the company said.

The new store also takes into account special needs and dietary requirements, allowing visitors to filter their product search according to product category, supplier and dietary preference.

According to Amazon, the aim of the new store is to make daily grocery shopping more comfortable and attractive, enabling shoppers to find a full range of commonly purchased items quickly and conveniently in one place.

The top-selling item of fresh produce on the Froodies website, which links to Amazon.de's grocery front page, is Dole-branded bananas, followed by a four-pack of cucumbers, organic bananas, white seedless grapes and Chiquita-branded bananas.

Other top-selling products on the site include 500g mixed pepper packs, bags of organic potatoes and organic cherry tomatoes on the vine.

UN introduces new safety guidance

Food standards commission provides hygienic measures for safer fresh leafy vegetables and salads

The food standards commission of the United Nations, Codex Alimentarius Commission, has outlined new guidance rulings to improve food safety, covering the leafy salad supply chain as well as melamine and aflatoxin content in food.

New guidelines were outlined during the 33rd session of the Commission, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland and was attended by some 500 delegates from 130 different countries.

The new Codex measures provided specific guidance for leafy green vegetable and salad production, harvesting, packing, processing, storage, distribution, marketing and consumer education to reduce food safety risks.

Guidance covered aspects including the control of irrigation water, cooling and storage, and the correct washing of hands by consumers.

"Fresh, leafy vegetables are part of a healthy diet and are grown under diverse conditions and marketed both locally and globally to provide year-round availability to consumers," the WHO said in a statement. "As these products move along the supply chain from the farm to the table, they can be contaminated by pathogens such as salmonella, e. coli and hepatitis A."

Meanwhile, limits on natural melamine occurrence in food were also tightened as part of the new Codex, while a maximum level of 10 micrograms per kg was set for aflatoxins in shelled Brazil nuts and 15 micrograms per kg for those headed for processing.

The 47-year-old Codex Alimentarius Commission is run jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), setting international standards to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

The results of its work form the Codex Alimentarius, a set of international food safety and quality standards that when introduced into national legislation contribute to the safety of food and the international food trade.

Intercitrus elects new president

Anecoop's Juan Vicente Safont appointed new Intercitrus president, replacing Jorge García

Spanish interprofessional citrus association Intercitrus has elected Juan Vicente Safont as its new president at the organisation's annual assembly, held this week in Valencia.

Mr Safont, who is also president of leading Spanish fresh produce group Anecoop and replaces Jorge García from Castellon-based citrus exporter García Ballester, marked his appointment by calling for greater unity in the sector.

The new president said the Spanish citrus sector was suffering sue to a "lack of agreements" between producers - a situation that he said now needed to be tackled urgently, reports news agency EFE.

"Our competition is with countries on the other side of the Mediterranean, like Morocco or Egypt, not here – we have to correct this because the lack of agreements (among the Spanish sector) must not be permanent," he told delegates.

Such agreements, Mr Safont continued, would allow for more support to be given to producers who had most suffered the consequences of the economic crisis and who needed urgent attention.

As a first step, the new president announced that Intercitrus would produce a new contract for citrus buying and selling, which he said would reinforce the legal security of commercial transactions and guarantee product quality.

Indian grape exporters count cost

The chlormequat dispute with the EU over chemical residue levels has cost the Indian grape industry dearly

It is estimated that the chlormequat chloride issue has cost the Indian grape industry around Rs2.5bn (US$53.27m), the Times of India reported.

Shipments of Indian grapes were stopped at European ports after traces of chlormequat, a grape sizing agent not prohibited in India, were found in them.

Because the EU had no specific regulations in place for the substance, the default level of 0.05mg per kg was applied, and when grapes were found with levels in excess of that amount, the Netherlands and Germany, both major markets for Indian grapes, refused to accept the fruit.

"The state exported 46,628 tonnes of grapes in 3,750 containers. The first 700 to 800 containers were accepted by the UK and Russia and received better prices," said Jagannath Khapare, chairman of the Grape Exporters Association (GEA).

"The remaining grapes were sold at an average price of €4 (US$5.20) per kg. The importers chose to sell grapes at such lower prices to control the damage."

Mr Khapare said grape exporters from Maharashtra, India's premier grape growing state, had lodged claims for government compensation at both state and national level.

India's table grape exports were worth around US$79.56m in 2008/09, up from US$48.28m in 2005/06.

Europe keen on Dominican bananas

Exports to Europe increase by 25 per cent year-on-year during the first half of 2010

Banana producers in the Dominican Republic have revealed that exports of the fruit to the European market increased by 25 per cent through the first half of the year, at a value of over US$58m (€45m).

The country now expects to export some US$160m (€124m)-worth of bananas to Europe by the end of 2010, increasing yearly volumes from 280,000 tonnes in 2009 to over 300,000 tonnes, Dominican Today reported.

Northwest Valverde province banana grower Luis Bonilla confirmed that exports were expected to top the US$160m mark by the end of the campaign, noting that producers were exporting over 350 boxes to Europe each week.

"The banana sector's perspective is very good, very encouraging," he told the publication. "We're going through one of the best moments regarding banana exports and production."

Metro set for Egyptian launch

German retailer to open its first Egyptian wholesale store this month, with the 10,000m2 outlet potentially the first of 20

Metro AG has revealed that it will open its inaugural Egyptian wholesale outlet this month, a 10,000m2 facility located in the Cairo area that will open its doors on 30 June.

The store could be the first of up to 20 in the country, the group said, as it looks to enhance its position in the growth markets of North Africa and Middle East.

Local reports suggested that the new Makro-branded store would offer some 20,000 food and other products, with around 90 per cent of products sold originating from Egypt.

Metro said that it was considering adding a total of 20 stores in the region but did not give a specific timeline for these, with the outlet – costing around €20m – serving traders, hospitality professionals and businesses.