Quality, diversity, food safety and on-demand solutions for the fruit and vegetable industry

From the 8th to the 10th of February, the 25th edition of Fruit Logistica took place; a few years after its beginnings the Berlin fair had already established itself as the unavoidable European meeting point, and increasingly in this time, also ?the? international one. This year has not been an exception and, as always, some exhibitors are very satisfied with their visits; others mention a decrease -during one of the initial days it was an airport strike- but, even conservative comments, do not change the character of an essential event. Around 87% of exhibitors said their overall impression of FRUIT LOGISTICA 2017 was good or very good. More than 75,000 trade visitors, 5% more than last year, from over 130 countries; more than 3,100 exhibitors from 84 countries, ... are the figures provided by Fruit Logistica organizers. In the field of exhibitors and anniversaries, Semillas Fit? also celebrated one, very special in the field of horticultural seeds: the 25 years of its eggplant Cristal, which has been able to remain as a "bestseller" throughout all this time. On the stand of the company, beside novelties in other species, was his intellectual father, the breeder Salvador Peramo. Quality maintenance treatmentsOne of the indicators of the nucleating character of the fair is the events that are organized during the same days, linked to it. The previous day was held, as usual, the conferences dedicated to the novelties in the fruit and vegetable business organized by Fruitnet. This year the Frutic symposium was added, which held its 10th edition in the new City Cube construction, connected with the facilities of the fair.? Frutic was organized by ATB, the Leibniz institute for agricultural techniques and bioeconomics, with the leadership of Manuela Zude, specialist in instruments to measure the ripening stage; the University of Foggia, through the head of the postharvest department of Prof. Giancarlo Colelli, and the fair itself. The program included presentations of a general nature and also the presentation of results of specific trials. Among the first, the conference of the Japanese Hidemi Izumi, Kindai University, known for his work in electrolyzed water, about techniques to ensure microbiological quality. As examples of feasible techniques, treatment for 1 second with water at 100 ? C and treatment with superheated steam at 110-120 ? C also for one second, achieving 4 log reductions in cucumber and carrot. The researcher of the CEBAS Mabel Gil, specialist in food safety for minimally processed, analyzed the pre-harvest conditions that affect the quality of leafy vegetables; one of the factors that stood out is the importance of controlling the relative humidity once the product has been harvested to maintain its quality. Among the second type of works, trials explained by Antonio Ippolito, University of Bari, show that the best results to control Penicillium use electrolyzed water with sodium bicarbonate as salt, which has the effect of reducing the inoculum and increase the resistance of the fruit. The kind of salt matters. Maria Luisa Amodio, University of Foggia, stressed the need to control the temperature, also when working with modified atmospheres, which do not replace the thermal control and, on the contrary, carelessness in this factor can cause quality losses. Already at 5?C undesirable changes in the quality of packaged arugula in AM can appear. Some of these speakers also participated in conferences that took place during the fair; Francisco Art?s Hern?ndez, Universidad Polit?cnica de Cartagena, presented in more detail the real-time recorder, allowing to know environmental conditions during the logistic chain, a device in process of patenting. Like other years there were different spaces for presentations of companies, whose number and the extension of the fair makes many times difficult to attend, notwithstanding their interest. The prizes to different categories within the distribution that organizes each year the magazine Fruchthandel went to Edeka, in the category Supermarkets; for Globus in the category Hiperrmarkets and for Lidl as Discount. AwardsFor all the companies in the produce industry, Fruit Logistica is the first fair of the year, not just any. It is a showcase for the presentation of novelties and companies put all your efforts into it. The news follow the profile of the exhibitors: consumer products and supplies and, among the latter, a growing number of solutions used during cultivation either open air or protected. Some of them have access to the FLIA space, destined to the concession, based on the votes of the visitors, of the prize for innovation, Fruit Logistica Innovation Award. The award went to Rijk Zwaan's Knox, a type of lettuce resistant to the appearance of pink, a quality factor for the minimally processed industry. ..//?The complete article is available below Pictures1 - Berries, a natural snack whose interest does not stop growing2 - Salvador Peramo, Semillas Fit?, the breeder of ?Cristal?eggplant, 25 years in the market3 - Everything starts in the variety4 - The distribution companies are one of the protagonists of Fruit Logistica5 - The "ready to ..." consume, use, enjoy, ... do not stop growing. Freshfel draws attention to the current good moment for fruits and vegetables, with a population increasingly aware of it welfare properties. Alicia Namesny, info@poscosecha.com