Reader’s digest October 2020

In October 2020, we published the following articles:

• In San Juan, the government announced grants for the construction of a tomato processing plant. In the medium term, it is expected to result in doubling the annual planted acreage.
• The Bayer Group is testing new tomato varieties with resistance to Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV).
• WPTC Crop Update as of 2 October 2020.
• In Ontario, according to the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG), even though less contracts were issued in 2020, production is growing.
• California 2020: Crop situation as of 3 October, projection to 10 October.
• The California Tomato Research Institute is supporting a project on mechanical weeding. Fields trials are comparing the efficacy of automated and mechanical cultivators to control weeds on processing tomatoes.
• The tomato processing sector saw a clear surge of imports in 2020, specially during March and April.
• TOMRA announced the divestment of its processing tomato harvester mounted sorting machine ODENBERG NFM business to Westside Equipment Holdings LLC for the North American region.
• ANICAV and EZ Lab sr launched an experimental project called "Tomato Blockchain", with a view to guarantee their origin, their health and the social values of the operators. It will involve two pilot companies associated with the ANICAV, Rodolfi Mansueto Spa in the northern region and Compagnia Mercantile d'Oltremare Srl. In the south-central region.
• Princes introduces on-pack QR-codes for its Napolina tinned tomatoes. This will allow consumers to access its sourcing story.
• A total of 2,741,982 tonnes of tomatoes were processed in Northern Italy this year, about 95% of what had been contracted.
• California 2020: Crop situation as of 10 October, projection to 17 October.
• La Regina Atlantica, a U.S. subsidiary of Italian processor La Regina di San Marzano, will open a new food processing facility in Georgia.
• Paste Prices: USA, Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, Chile.
• A recent review article, "Thrombosis and COVID-19: The Potential Role of Nutrition", discusses the role of nutrition in combatting the thrombotic complications of COVID-19.
• Global Trade of Tomato Paste, updated 15 October 2020.
• In Spain, the agricultural cooperative Las Marismas de Lebrija is planning to invest in second-stage processing facilities in order to produce ketchup and sauces.
• A Japanese company, Morinaga Milk, famous for its unique flavor creations, developed Morinaga Delicious Tomato Yogurt, a "tomato yogurt that makes tomato haters faint in agony".
• In Italy, quotations indicate price increases from 4% to nearly 16%.
• California 2020: Crop situation as of 17 October, projection to 24 October.
• In Italy, the Princes Industrie Alimentari (PIA) factory invested in a cogeneration system to provide electricity, in addition to free steam and hot water.
• Enza Zaden reported it identified the gene that provides high resistance to the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV).
• WPTC Preliminary 2020 Global Crop Estimate.
• Mike Montna, president and CEO of the California Tomato Growers Association since 2008, was elected president of WPTC.
• In Ivory Coast, the Carré d'Or Group, one of the biggest industrial groups in West Africa, after creating a plant for its own production and a company dedicated to tomato processing, selected CFT group to provide the production lines.
• Kraft Heinz announced they will switch Ketchup bottles to single-material PET so that they can be recycled into food-grade PET. Their goal is to make all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Other food and beverage companies such as Nestlé, Unilever and FrieslandCampina signed the European Plastics Pact in March 2020.
• In The Philippines, the government is allotting more than 1 million Euros to upgrade a processing tomato plant managed by Northern Foods Corporation (NFC).

You can find the individual articles in the NEWS list and/or search by keyword, date etc.