Forum, Markets and Companies, Press-release

Fruit and vegetables: innovation as a driver

Consumers’ nutritional concerns and the European “5-a day” health campaign promoting fruit and vegetables, and the demand for practicality have led to a burst of innovation in the fruit and vegetables sector. As in 2006, the SIAL Trends and Innovations Monitor will turn the spotlight on these new products.

This year, fruit and vegetables, notably from Europe and Oceania, have carried off several SIAL d’Or awards which are given to innovations which have been commercially successful on the domestic market of each of the 29 participating countries, with, for example:

Ireland: “Cully & Sully Soups” premium, gluten-free soups without flavourings or artificial thickeners. Packaged in 400g and 600g jars, they are made using fresh products according to a recipe that gives them a homemade flavour.

Czech Republic: “Potence Mix and Baby Mix” are two new solutions to encourage vegetable-shy men and children to change their habits. Mochov has put together some enticing combinations to grab their attention: for children the emphasis is on colour while men are lured by vegetables with aphrodisiac properties.

Italy: “ Santal” – A range of fruit juices with a higher proportion of natural ingredients to optimise the health benefits. The range includes 5 different coloured juices each with a different action: red to fight cell ageing, green to protect the eyesight, blue to enhance the circulation, white to regulate the body’s functions and finally orange to help the body build up its defences.

New Zealand: “Pitango Organics” – Ready meals made from organically-grown vegetables and free-range chicken. The range includes 8 meals, some vegetarian, and are free from colourings, preservatives and gluten.

A new event focusing on fruit and vegetables will also take place in Hall 4 with the goal of highlighting food manufacturers’ innovation efforts and future research avenues driven by the consumer demand for better access to fruit and vegetables.
Tuesday October 21: a high profile for fruit and vegetables at every SIAL event.

In the Nutrition Agora

Among the many talks and panel sessions planned during the 5 days of SIAL, fruit and vegetables will be very much in the spotlight in the Nutrition Agora. On Tuesday 21 October there will be 2 talks on the subject:

• “The superfruits, superfoods and superingredients of tomorrow”, talk. Speaker: Helen Conn (Fellow of the Institute of  Food Scientists and Technology and of the Royal Society of Medicine – sits on the Council of the Royal Society of Medicine’s Food and Health Forum and that of Leatherhead Food International’s Nutrition and Health Forum).

• “World tour of the fruit and vegetable offer and consumption habits”, panel session. Speakers include: Philippe Comolet-Tirman (Marketing and Communications Manager, Aprifel), Guillaume Bapst (Manager of ANDES, Association Nationale de Développement des Épiceries Solidaires, a network of grocers that helps promote access to fruit and vegetables for the disadvantaged), Georges Grunenwald (Quality and Communications Manager, Picard), Roland Vaxelaire (Chairman of the Board, Carrefour Belgium).

At the Cuisine du SIAL

For many years SIAL has supported the grocers’ charitable initiatives by giving the ANDES network an opportunity to speak to the food industry.

ANDES – this organisation was set up to give disadvantaged families a new form of food aid offering them quality and flavour while respecting their human dignity.

At SIAL, ANDES will present its campaign to raise awareness of the importance of eating vegetables, an operation that will target 60 organisations in Paris and the Paris Region.

The aims of the campaign are to transmit a culinary culture through vegetables, promote the positive aspects of models that maintain a food balance and create a real dialogue with a total of 6000 users and encourage them to rediscover ways of cooking with vegetables.

This project will be launched at SIAL with a demonstration in the Cuisine du SIAL on Tuesday 21 October from 11.00 to 12.00.