Go Fruit!

Australians breed pineapple with extra vitamin C

A 15- year research project in Australia has lead to the development of a new variety of pineapple called the ‘Australian Jubilee’. This fruit is sweeter and contains double  the amount of vitamin C in comparison to other pineapple varieties. The new variety is the first truly Australian pineapple, as the traditional varieties grown for commercial production all originate from Hawaii. It is already on the market and will be available all-year round, as it can also be grown during the winter and still be of good quality (source: ABC news).

Free fruit at work induces lifestyle changes

 
The ‘Fruit at Work’ study in ISAFRUIT was the first study to investigate if the general health and diet among employees can be affected by offering free fruit at work. For 18 weeks, 186 employees in a government office in the UK were offered 2 pieces of fruit per day for free, while a control group of 165 employees from the same workplace did not get free fruit. Measurements of health parameters such as BMI, fat percent and blood pressure were carried out together with dietary assessments to find out if the free fruit made a difference. It turned out that it did. Compared to the control group, employees receiving fruit had made several health and dietary changes, as part of a healthier lifestyle by the end of the study. Thus, simple changes in the work place seem to be a promising way to increase general public health. Employers could also benefit as providing free fruit at work could increase employee satisfaction and potentially reduce the number of sick days. If you are interested in more information, the results from the study are currently in preparation for publication.

Art sculptures of watermelons

Using only their imagination and a fine knife some people can turn watermelons into amazing sculptures. The idea apparently originates from banquets 700 years ago where the carved watermelons were used to impress royal visitors. The Daily mail has featured some of the impressive watermelon sculpture of hotel chef Takashi Itoh from Tokyo. Have a look for yourself.

Genes -a shortcut to better fruits

 

A couple of weeks ago, the complete genome of apple was mapped for the first time by an international team of scientists. Knowledge about all of the genes in a fruit and their function can help to breed new fruit varieties with desired characteristics. Also, the ability to grow in more extreme environments can be favoured. Work is ongoing to identify which genes are responsible for which apple characteristics, for example firmness, aroma and sugar content and in the long term will enable breeders to preselect seedlings which possess desirable characteristics, very early in the breeding process. The time it takes to develop a new variety, with specific characteristics, could be considerably shortened due to these research advances (source: the Telegraph). Watch a video from the ISAFRUIT project about how this method has been applied to peaches and apricots.

Highlights from the ISAFRUIT roundtable at Fruit Logistica in Berlin

Mike Knowles editor of Eurofruit Magazine chaired a roundtable event where ISAFRUIT researchers Jos Bartels, Lars Ove Dragsted, Ronan Gormley and Joan Bonany presented some of their initial results. The highlights also include the Mr Fruitness project, a joint initiative between EU and CSO (Italian marketing and research organisation), aiming to increase fruit consumption among children. 

 

Predicting peach quality using light

This video features the prototype of a machine for online Near Infra Red (NIR) measurements of peach quality. NIR-measurements is a non-destructive way to predict quality parameters, such as ripeness and internal damage before peaches are distributed to consumers. The machine has been developed as part of a collaboration between the Department of Fruit tree & Woody Plant Science, University of Bologna and SINTELEIA, Italy, with funding from the ISAFRUIT project. For more information see 'Artificial nose can monitor fruit quality' below.

 

New red fleshed apple looks like a guaranteed success

A Swiss apple breeder has spent 14 years crossing a tasteless red fleshed apple with other apples to obtain a new variety he has named ‘Redlove’. This new apple is red all the way to the core. The apple is full of taste and is said to have a slight scent of berries. It will not turn brown after cutting and the colour is retained after heating and pressing; characteristics of interest for the apple processing industry. Work has already begun to commercialise the new apple, which is expected to be available on the market within the next couple of years (source: FreshPlaza).

Last news from Lisbon

Artificial nose can monitor fruit quality

 

When fruit ripens one of the most considerable changes that occur are changes in texture and development of flavours. It would be a major advantage for the future supermarket quality of fruits, if it was possible to monitor the flavour and texture of every single fruit before it is purchased by consumers. Even though this might sound unrealistic, research in ISAFRUIT has demonstrated that non-destructive methods that are fast enough to accomplish this task already exist. One of them is Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy, which works by radiating fruits with light of certain wavelengths. Depending on the composition of the fruit, it will absorb the light differently and by looking at this pattern, it is possible to determine parameters such as firmness, sugar content, ripeness and the presence of diseases in the core. Another instrument with a similar potential is an artificial nose that can be used to detect fruit flavour (source: Presentation S11.044 by A. Bozzi Nising, IHC 2010 Download Abstract).

 

  

 

Young people eat less fruit

The results from a large ISAFRUIT consumer survey were published today in the Journal Appetite. It revealed that compared to older age groups, young people eat much less of the most common fruits in Europe; apple and peach. Of the 4900 consumers surveyed, 54.5 % of respondents aged 61-70 reported eating more than 5 apples per week. In the age group 15-35 years, the corresponding number was only 17.4 %. For peaches, a similar tendency was observed, with 35.6 % of the oldest respondents and only 15.7 % of the youngest eating more than 5 peaches per week. The survey also demonstrated that men are eating significantly lower amounts of apples and peaches than women and are more liable to avoid these fruits altogether (Read the full press release: Download Young people eat less fruit).

ISAFRUIT news from Lisbon

A House of Quality for fruit revealed

 

Ivo van der Lans presents the ISAFRUIT House of Quality.

 

The ISAFRUIT ‘Vasco da Gama’ process has brought together social and natural scientists within the project and the final result of their work was revealed in a workshop at the IHC2010 last week. Back in March 2008, when the process started, it was named after Vasco da Gama after the name of the meeting room where the first meeting between the involved scientists took place. Ironically enough, the product of the work, an ISAFRUIT House of Quality for fruit, was presented in Lisbon, the city where the same Vasco da Gama started his first voyage half a millennium ago. The ISAFRUIT House of Quality links consumer demands for fruit to the results from technical pre- and post-harvest fruit studies. You can read about the method on the website www.go.warwick.ac.uk/vasco (Workshop 06 Download Abstract)