Fruit Logistica Innovation Awards embrace breeding excellence

Fruit Logistica organizers of the 2023 Innovation Award crunched the numbers and discovered that the 300,000 show attendees loved the excitement of flavourful snacking peppers, mellow melons and a fusion of broccoli and avocado.

Based in Berlin, the trade show announced its 2023 Innovation Awards on February 10.

Top honours went to Rijk Zwaan’s Tatayoyo pepper. It’s the brand name for peppers with a distinct and strong flavour, originating from wild peppers. It comes in an intermediate size between block and snack peppers.

Rijk Zwaan is a family-owned global vegetable breeding company based in The Netherlands, with subsidiaries throughout the world.

When breeders at Rijk Zwaan discovered a ‘wild’ pepper bursting with flavour, they immediately felt this was the opportunity to create something different. The breeders set to work to breed the genetics into a commercial variety which not only had a distinctive taste, but also an attractive colour and recognisable shape. After several years of crossing varieties, the first commercial pepper was created: Mitayo. Further research into this variety has confirmed that the breeders’ gut feeling was right; consumers love the taste, and so do chefs.

The second place winner is also the result of breeding efforts. Syngenta’s IDEAL Melons with the patent-pending Harvest Indicator trait was honoured at the 2023 Fruit Logistica Innovation Awards. It features a rind colour change technology that indicates the ideal time to harvest, ideal time to ship, ideal time to stock, and ideal time to eat. It’s a product that appeals to the entire value chain.

“We know that with previous long-shelf-life melons, there were challenges that impacted not only growers, but consumers’ perceptions of the fruit,” said Bernie Hamel, value added chain lead, Americas. “With Syngenta

Vegetable Seeds new IDEAL Melon varieties with the Harvest Indicator trait, we’re addressing those challenges to create melons that have improved taste, texture, and are more sustainable.”

The technology in IDEAL Melons with the Harvest Indicator Trait turns cantaloupe rinds from green to a golden straw colour. This is an easy-tosee indication of time to harvest, meaning growers only ship melons that are ripe and ready-toeat. Therefore, customers can shop with confidence that the cantaloupe they buy at the store will be at the peak of ripeness and have good flavour to the last bite – every time.

The third winner is the Spanish entry of Brocomole. It’s a new dip alternative for the lovers of "guacamole." The addition of broccoli to guacamole reduces the carbon footprint by more than 50 per cent, since growing broccoli requires fewer water resources. "Brocomole" is made from 97% fresh broccoli and avocado.

The remaining three per cent of ingredients are flavouring ingredients -- salt, onion, coriander, garlic, and cumin -and the products necessary so that it can be refrigerated adequately. Brocomole has been submitted to a consumer panel coordinated by the European technological institute (AINIA) with excellent results in the appearance, colour, aroma, flavour, and consistency parameters.