What are grape varietal innovations worth? A professor paints the picture
We have carefully followed the VitisGen and VitisGen2 project for a long time. It is a multi-institution research collaboration, funded by the USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative and focused on enabling the production of new grape varieties. At the most recent New York Produce Show and Conference in December 2021, we had an important presentation: Consumers, Grapes and Gene Editing Cornell’s Brad […]
Aldi’s move into Big Four shows power of discounting, inflation
Although Aldi’s rise into the Big Four of UK supermarkets ahead of Morrisons was not a surprise given its surge in the past two years, it nonetheless showed the power of discount chains in a budget-crunched sector for consumers. With inflation soaring to 12.4%, Aldi pulled down a 9.3% share to leap ahead of Morrisons […]
Raspberry development in processing and fresh sectors
On a recent trip to Chile, I took this photo in a raspberry production field. For me, it very neatly summed up the progress that has been made in raspberry breeding in the recent past. The variety on the left has been the industry standard type in the country for the last few decades. On […]
Tackling social sustainability in fresh produce
Social sustainability can best be described as a company’s desire to “make a positive difference to people’s lives and futures, with a focus on their position in the environment.” Social sustainability projects can create great support for and understanding of sustainability. Quite a few fresh produce companies aspire to become a supply chain partner that […]
Wait a minute: Aren’t we the plant-based diet?
By Anne-Marie Roerink Life has been a rollercoaster ride for more than two years. At the onset of the pandemic, consumers focused on comfort food, but immunity and healthful eating quickly took a front seat. When you type in “healthy” in any one of the search engines, then click images, every picture that pops up […]
Shoplifting putting further strains on retailers, including Tesco
Rising inflation and strains on budgets have furthered the wave of shoplifting in retail shops across the UK in the past few months, including Tesco, which has taken additional steps to try to protect food items from being stolen. The retailer has gone so far as to wrap some higher-priced products in netting with security […]
Perishable Pundit mailbag: Why British Energy Prices are increasing faster than Europe
We thought we would devote today’s Pundit to publishing some of the mail we have received in recent days. Whether they agree or disagree with positions we’ve taken here on the Pundit, commendations are due to all those who have weighed in, as these contributions help the industry advance by thinking through the issues at […]
Food industry offers condolences, fondly honours HRM Queen Elizabeth II
This past week, condolences and tributes have poured in across the UK and the world after the passing of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at age 96 at Balmoral Castle. That includes scores of retail, hospitality and other food industry entities who got to know her during her reign. Here are some of the […]
