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    Arsenal stars Mathieu Debuchy and Wojciech Szczesny have posted a picture of themselves braving some infamous durian fruit.

    The photo of the footballers, posted on Debuchy’s Instagram account Thursday (14 May), doubled up as a way of promoting the club’s upcoming tour to Singapore, where the fruit – renowned for its potent smell – is popular.

    In a separate story involving the same fruit, two Jersey firefighters crews and a Jersey Gas representative responded quickly to an alert about a potential gas leak at a block of flats.

    The property was searched, but no gas leak was found, with the crews realising that the gas-like stench was coming from some durian fruit belonging to the residents. 

    Arsenal stars sample infamous fruit

    Company claims unique design minimises machine loading and operational requirements

    Post-harvest equipment manufacturer Wyma has unveiled its new Bin and Bag Tipper, designed to gently tip heavy loads of fresh produce into bags, bins or boxes.

    This new addition to Wyma’s product range was originally designed for a large potato chip processor who wanted a versatile tipper that would minimise labour input and maximise safety.

    “The ability to quickly change between bin and bag operations minimises machine loading and operational requirements,” the company said in a statement. “Another key feature contributing to its low operational requirement is the ability to secure the bags from the front, without having to reach out at the back of the bin tipper to place the retaining hooks on the back loops.”

    The Bin and Bag Tipper also eliminates the need for additional tippers or in-feed points, which Wyma claims reduces overhead costs and the environmental footprint of any given packhouse.

    Wyma launches Bin and Bag Tipper

    Company claims unique design minimises machine loading and operational requirements

    Post-harvest equipment manufacturer Wyma has unveiled its new Bin and Bag Tipper, designed to gently tip heavy loads of fresh produce into bags, bins or boxes.

    This new addition to Wyma’s product range was originally designed for a large potato chip processor who wanted a versatile tipper that would minimise labour input and maximise safety.

    “The ability to quickly change between bin and bag operations minimises machine loading and operational requirements,” the company said in a statement. “Another key feature contributing to its low operational requirement is the ability to secure the bags from the front, without having to reach out at the back of the bin tipper to place the retaining hooks on the back loops.”

    The Bin and Bag Tipper also eliminates the need for additional tippers or in-feed points, which Wyma claims reduces overhead costs and the environmental footprint of any given packhouse.

    Wyma launches Bin and Bag Tipper

    Vitacress has said that the sale of the £40m firm will allow it to focus on its core prepared salads and fresh herbs businesses

    Vitacress has sold its UK tomato business, Wight Salads, to APS Salads.

    Vitacress has said that the sale will allow it to focus on its core prepared salads and fresh herbs businesses, and accelerate its investment programme.

    APS is a family-run tomato business based in Cheshire, while Wight Salads has annual sales of over £40 million and employs around 460 people.

    It grows tomatoes on the Isle of Wight, and has a packing plant in Chichester, Sussex. It supplies tomatoes to many of the UK’s leading food retailers.

    The sale will allow Vitacress to focus on its core prepared salads and fresh herbs businesses and accelerate its investment programme. Vitacress will retain its Portuguese and Spanish tomato nurseries.

    Toby Brinsmead, chief executive of Vitacress, said: “This is a good deal which strengthens both Vitacress and Wight Salads. It allows Vitacress to increase its focus on prepared salads and fresh herbs, where we are already investing heavily in innovation and efficiency.

    “We believe the combination of Wight Salads and APS will also create a strong UK tomato growing business which will benefit consumers, customers and employees.”

    Vitacress sells Wight Salads to APS Salads

     

    The Birmingham-based banana supplier has agree to supply containers to key Russian fruit exporter, Fruit Brothers

    BanaBay has taken a leap forward with banana sales in Russia by securing a significant new customer following a successful product trial.

    Having experienced BanaBay produce via the European spot market, Fruit Brothers, one of the leading fruit and vegetable exporters in Russia, approached BanaBay directly and will now be supplied with 12 to 15 containers of bananas per week to distribute to supermarkets in the largest Russian cities and other regions.

    Vitali Donskoi, BanaBay’s business development manager responsible for Russia, said: “The Russian market is really huge and growing fast, so we will always be interested in any opportunities and challenges arising there.

    “Now that we have had our first success, we are currently exploring how to start working directly with retailers as this is another fantastic potential customer base for us.”

    BanaBay opens new door in Russia

    Volunteers who drank beverage sweetened with glucose in US experiment went on to consume more biscuits and sweets than people who didn’t

    Fructose may increase cravings for high-calorie foods, according to a new study.

    Researchers at the University of Southern California got 24 volunteers to consume a sugary drink sweetened with fructose – the sugar found in fruit – on one day and glucose on another day.

    Compared with glucose, the fructose drink led to more hunger and desire for treats such as biscuits and sweets, suggesting that different sugars may affect us differently.

    The participants were given a sweetened, cherry-flavoured drink but were not told what was in it – fructose or glucose.

    Shortly afterwards, they were asked to rate how hungry they were. They then underwent brain scans while being shown pictures of foods such as biscuits, sweets, burgers and pizza, as well as some ‘neutral’ photographs of buildings.

    Some days later, the same volunteers came in again and repeated the experiment. The only difference was the type of sweetener added to their cherry drink.

    The brain scans showed that people responded more strongly to photos of food if they had been drinking fructose, rather than glucose. Some of the subjects also reported more food cravings for treats shortly after consuming fructose.

    Although fructose and glucose contain the same energy or calories, the body breaks the sugars down in different ways, and the researchers believe this might explain their findings.

    Study claims fructose creates junk food cravings

    Ayrshire meat company, We Hae Meat, has rolled out its single-portion Scotch pie range to 62 Asda stores across Scotland.

    Asda described the range as a “revolutionary” take on the Scotch pie, with fillings including BBQ Pulled Pork, Balmoral Chicken, BBQ Pulled Beef and Chicken Curry.

    “Through the single-portion pie range, we’ve given the Scotch pie a contemporary makeover, using the kind of flavours and fillings that we – as a young modern family – would like to eat,” said Carlyn Paton, director of We Hae Meat.
     
    “As butchers who are relatively new to the industry, we are proud to look at product development with fresh eyes and pick what we think will give the very best result – whether that’s a recipe inspired by tradition or current trends.”
     
    The pies use quality-assured meat from the Paton family farm based at Cairnhill near Girvan.

    “We’re hugely excited to bring our innovative pies and butcher’s shop roots to the convenience of the supermarket. Here’s to introducing a new wave of Scotch pie to the Scottish people!” added Paton.
     
    Brian O’Shea, regional buying manager for Asda Scotland, commented: “The Scotch pie is a huge part of our national identity, but is at risk of getting stuck in the past if it remains bridled by convention.
     
    “We are delighted to be exclusively stocking this revolutionary new take on the traditional Scotch pie.
     
    “The innovative flavours, made with delicious ingredients, are exactly what our customers want. We Hae Meat has really hit the nail on the head with their exciting new range.”

    The pies will be launched exclusively in Asda at a retail price of £1.50.

    Scotch pie line rolled out in Asda

    A London warehouse will be converted into a salad, herb and fish farm, and will produce 200,000 bags of salad a year

    A large-scale aquaponic farm that will produce more than 20,000kg of salad annually is being built in a converted London warehouse.

    The farm, based in Beckton and described as the first of its kind in the UK, is expected to produce its first harvest in September. It will use aquaculture and hydroponic technology to grow enough salads and herbs for around 200,000 salad bags, and produce 4,000kg of fish each year.

    Run by GrowUp Urban Farms, the project was given the green light to start building this week after winning planning permission from the London Borough of Newham.

    The farm will provide eight jobs, with three positions created specifically for local young people with a history of poor educational attainment. All employees will receive the London Living Wage, of £9.15 an hour, as a minimum.

    “This farm will be a flagship for innovative urban farming, putting food and feeding people at the heart of the development of London as a smarter and more sustainable city,” said GrowUp Urban Farms CEO, Kate Hofman.

    The farm will also include a visitor centre to explain more about sustainable food production in cities, and engage the local community in urban farming.

    Hydroponic systems pump waste water from fish tanks through growing beds, where salad plants absorb waste nutrients from the water, and then the water for the fish as the system continually recirculates.

    Specialist horticultural LED lighting is to be designed and manufactured by Philips, and the tilapia fish that are produced by the farm will be sold to local restaurants.

    Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board, said: “GrowUp Urban Farms is pioneering an innovative approach that will see a former warehouse in London transformed into a highly productive urban farm, which will cultivate not only great grub but jobs for local people too.

    “I wish Kate and the team all the best for this exciting new venture and I look forward to sampling the produce.”

    GrowUp secured its first investment of £1.1 million in September 2014, with over 65% of this provided by Ignite Social Enterprise, backed by Centrica. It has also been awarded funding from InnovateUK through the Agri-Tech Catalyst fund.

    The company currently runs the Stratford-based pilot – GrowUp Box – a demonstration aquaponic farming system built from a shipping container and greenhouse. 

    UK’s ‘first’ aquaponic farm gets green light

    Unit sales have increased by 36.2 per cent year-on-year, and value sales are up by 18.1 per cent y-o-y thanks to ‘Potatokens’

    Greenvale is celebrating what it claims to be an outstanding response to its current current ‘Potato Pals’ interactive initiative in retail stores.

    Launched in February 2015, the aim of the cross-platform loyalty campaign in Tesco, Ocado and Booths has been to increase sales and generate trials of Greenvale’s branded All Rounder and Jacket Potatoes ranges.

    The ‘Potato Pals’ loyalty scheme involves the collection of ‘Potatokens’ in order to claim a range of potato preparation and kitchen equipment.

    Figures from grocery research bodies Nielsen and Dunnhumby show that unit sales have increased by 36.2 per cent year-on-year, and value sales are up by 18.1 per cent year on year.

    Greenvale also developed a CRM system in order to maintain consumer enthusiasm for the promotion – emails, prize draws, recipes and potato usage tips have been deployed to encourage participants to keep collecting and redeeming points, and to share the promotion with their social media contacts.

    According to the potato giant, this activity has generated over 3,500 Facebook ‘likes’ to date, and the highest ever number of unique visitors to the Greenvale website since its launch in 2012.

    Tracey Mattock, Greenvale’s marketing manager, said: “This type of direct communication with shoppers was a new venture for Greenvale, and we are absolutely delighted to be delivering sign ups and entered codes above all expectations – between 200-400 per cent on a number of measures – plus the highest repeat rate in the last 12 months.

    “The ‘Potato Pals’ scheme was designed to be a fun and attractive mechanism to extend GreenVale’s social media presence and to increase awareness, trial and purchase of our branded potatoes – and it is proving to be a fantastic success on every level.”

    The scheme runs until August 2015

    Greenvale tokens drive volume and value growth
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