In September the focus was on storage and fresh.
We started at Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research where the challenges facing storage, such as efficiency, sprout suppression and variety management were discussed. Adrian Briddon spoke about the label changes to CIPC earlier this year with the new limits, harvest interval and best practice guidelines. This was followed by a walk around the centre, with a bit of a practical session on diseases.
Simon Faulkner from Produce World was also present. He spoke about the need to adapt and projects they are looking at such as the electronic nose and aerial photography. We also discussed observations of the season at that point and what the consumer thinks about skin finish.
We then went to IPL where Mark Taylor spoke about the company and issues for the industry such as one in five potatoes in the home being thrown away but that there is not an active rejection of potatoes as such, that the reduced purchase was unconscious.
There was a workshop at the end where we were split into groups and given tasks. The group summarised by talking about the need for shared risk, increased trust and communication from seed to supermarket shelves.
Bryonie