The European tomato market. An approach by export competitiveness maps

Most empirical studies examining the export competitiveness of a country in a target market are undertaken by focusing on supply, only analysing the group of competing countries. In addition, if the target market to be analysed is extensive, like the European Union, it is generally analysed as a whole. This study presents an evaluation of the tomato export competitiveness, from a differentiated demand perspective, analysing its main customers markets in the context of European Union. The methodological framework is implemented through Constant Market Share to analyze variations in exports, allowing the portion attributable to competitiveness and segregation into general or specific competitiveness to be quantified. The Constant Market Share was adapted to focus on the differentiated demand so as to observe the influence of the worldwide crisis (2007/08) on the European tomato market. This study allows the analysis of profile changes into the competitor exporting economies. As a contribution to the methodology, this study presents a new graphical way of representing the results of Constant Market Share methodology by means of export competitiveness maps in the European tomato market for the group for each main competitor in each European client market. According to our results, Spain and Belgium are candidate countries to be competitive in the main European markets.

Cost-benefit analysis of tomato in soilless culture systems with saline water under greenhouse conditions

BACKGROUND

The current need to produce food for a growing population, from diminishing natural resources, such as water and energy, and with minimum environmental degradation, demands the optimization of production. We compare the economic feasibility of tomato production in an open system with a perlite substrate, a closed system with the nutrient film technique (NFT), and a hydroponic crop (deep flow technique, DFT) using three levels of salinity that are found within the normal range for irrigation water quality in southeastern Spain.

RESULTS

Production with DFT resulted in an increase in the cost of phytosanitary treatments and the cost of maintenance. Production with perlite resulted in an increase in the cost of irrigation water and fertilization, and the use of NFT resulted in an increase in energy costs. The point of price equilibrium was exceeded in the three soilless systems when using low salinity water, and in perlite, with intermediate salinity water.

CONCLUSION

Profitability was reduced in the following order: perlite > NFT > DFT. There were positive results when using irrigation water with low salinity, and in the case of perlite, with intermediate salinity. In every case, salinity reduced the profitability of the operation, and this was greater when NFT was employed. The analysis of these soilless systems should be continued to determine the possibility of reducing cultivation costs. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Contrasting metabolic profiles of tasty Andean varieties of tomato fruit in comparison with commercial ones

BACKGROUND

The fruits of most commercial tomato cultivars (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are deficient in flavour. In contrast, traditional 'criollo' tomato varieties are appreciated for fruit of excellent organoleptic quality. Small farmers from the Andean valleys in Argentina have maintained their own tomato varieties, which were selected mainly for flavour. This work aims to correlate the chemical composition of the fruit with the sensory attributes of eight heirloom tomato varieties. The long-term goal is to identify potential candidate genes capable of altering the chemicals involved in flavour.

RESULTS

A sensory analysis was conducted and the metabolomics of fruit were determined. The data revealed that defined tomato aroma and sourness correlated with citrate and several volatile organic compounds (VOC), such as α-terpineol, p-menth-1-en-9-al, linalool and 3,6-dimethyl-2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydrobenzofuran (DMHEX), a novel volatile recently identified in tomato. Two sensory attributes - sweetness and a not-acidic taste - correlated with the characteristic tomato taste, and also with fructose, glucose, and two VOCs, benzaldehyde, and 2-methyl-2-octen-4-one.

CONCLUSIONS

These data provide new evidence of the complex chemical combination that induced the flavour and aroma of the good-tasting 'criollo' tomato fruit. That is, the compounds that correlated with defined tomato aroma and acidic taste did not correlate with sweetness, or with characteristic tomato taste. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis for the determination of imazalil, prochloraz and thiabendazole in apples, cherry tomatoes and grape juice

BACKGROUND

Fruit and vegetables are frequently treated with fungicides to reduce possible spoilage. As a result, fungicide residues may be accumulated in derived products. This important group of chemical compounds has been heavily regulated because of their potential toxicity. Therefore, a simple and rapid method to determine fungicides is desired.

RESULTS

A simple non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) method based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been proposed for the determination of imazalil, prochloraz and thiabendazole fungicides in fruits and juice samples. Separation buffer consisted of a methanol-acetonitrile mixture (35:65, v/v) containing 30 mmol L⁻¹ ammonium chloride and 0.5% phosphoric acid. The optimum DLLME conditions were 80 µL trichloromethane as extraction solvent, 0.5 mL tetrahydrofuran as disperser solvent, sample solution pH at 6.0, 5% (w/v) NaCl and 10 s extraction time. Recoveries obtained for various samples ranged from 72% to 102%, with relative standard deviation lower than 6.4%. The limits of detection ranged from 0.47 to 0.72 µg kg⁻¹.

CONCLUSION

The proposed method takes the advantages of DLLME and NACE. It is rapid, accurate, sensitive and reproducible for the determination of imazalil, prochloraz and thiabendazole in fruit samples.

Stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium into foods during cooking

Toxicological studies show that oral doses of nickel and chromium can cause cutaneous adverse reactions such as dermatitis. Additional dietary sources, such as leaching from stainless steel cookware during food preparation, are not well characterized. This study examined stainless steel grades, cooking time, repetitive cooking cycles, and multiple types of tomato sauces for their effects on nickel and chromium leaching. Trials included three types of stainless steels and a stainless steel saucepan, cooking times of 2-20 h, 10 consecutive cooking cycles, and four commercial tomato sauces. After a simulated cooking process, samples were analyzed by ICP-MS for Ni and Cr. After 6 h of cooking, Ni and Cr concentrations in tomato sauce increased up to 26- and 7-fold, respectively, depending on the grade of stainless steel. Longer cooking durations resulted in additional increases in metal leaching, where Ni concentrations increased 34-fold and Cr increased approximately 35-fold from sauces cooked without stainless steel. Cooking with new stainless steel resulted in the largest increases. Metal leaching decreases with sequential cooking cycles and stabilized after the sixth cooking cycle, although significant metal contributions to foods were still observed. The tenth cooking cycle resulted in an average of 88 μg of Ni and 86 μg of Cr leached per 126 g serving of tomato sauce. Stainless steel cookware can be an overlooked source of nickel and chromium, where the contribution is dependent on stainless steel grade, cooking time, and cookware usage.

The tomato queen of San Joaquin

The life of Tillie Lewis exemplifies key moments in American food history from the rise of the canning industry to wartime rations to the craze for diet food. Her biography was consciously manipulated and fashioned through the years to make it a quintessential rags-to-riches story. Nonetheless, her accomplishments stand out, marking her as a brilliantly successful woman in an industry dominated by men.

Managing honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) for greenhouse tomato pollination

Although commercially reared colonies of bumble bees (Bombus sp.) are the primary pollinator world-wide for greenhouse tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) previous research indicates that honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) might be a feasible alternative or supplement to bumble bee pollination. However, management methods for honey bee greenhouse tomato pollination scarcely have been explored. We 1) tested the effect of initial amounts of brood on colony population size and flight activity in screened greenhouses during the winter, and 2) compared foraging from colonies with brood used within screened and unscreened greenhouses during the summer. Brood rearing was maintained at low levels in both brood and no-brood colonies after 21 d during the winter, and emerging honey bees from both treatments had significantly lower weights than bees from outdoor colonies. Honey bee flight activity throughout the day and over the 21 d in the greenhouse was not influenced by initial brood level. In our summer experiment, brood production in screened greenhouses neared zero after 21 d but higher levels of brood were reared in unscreened greenhouses with access to outside forage. Flower visitation measured throughout the day and over the 21 d the colonies were in the greenhouse was not influenced by screening treatment. An economic analysis indicated that managing honey bees for greenhouse tomato pollination would be financially viable for both beekeepers and growers. We conclude that honey bees can be successfully managed for greenhouse tomato pollination in both screened and unscreened greenhouses if the foraging force is maintained by replacing colonies every 3 wk.