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Flavour Guarantee: Small farmers in Brazil are producing certified grapes, pineapples and melons
Brazil
Thursday 21 February 2008
Bayer CropScience presented its "Flavour Guarantee Project" at Fruit Logistica in Berlin. The company launched the project in 2007 in collaboration with HortiBrasil, a non-governmental organization in Brazil and some 500 small farmers. The result of this collaboration is certified, hence competitive, products for Brazilian supermarkets which undergo strict quality control procedures. The small farmers benefit from the growing demand for quality food products because they can get higher prices for their produce, and this in turn improves their income. The aim is for their produce to be available in supermarkets outside Brazil from 2008. "The United States and Europe are also seeing a trend towards ripe fruits which have more flavour and are sweeter", explains Marc Reichardt, Head of Bayer CropScience in Latin America. "We're confident that there is a good market for fruit and vegetables from Brazil."
This new food chain partnership project also covers several stages in the food chain, from small farmers who are growing quality products sustainably with the help of Bayer CropScience, through independent external controllers who certify the quality of the produce and attach a special label to the fruit, to the food traders at the Central Market in Sao Paulo. Luiz Dinnouti, Food Chain Manager at Bayer CropScience in Brazil and the manager of this project, comments: "The label ‘Garantia de Sabor’ (good flavour guaranteed) was developed to enable Brazilian consumers to immediately locate these high-quality, flavoursome products on the supermarket shelves." "We have contributed our many years of international experience with fruit growing to the project because, apart from the variety, the cultivation method is the major factor that contributes to the flavour of the produce", adds Dr. Birgitt Walz-Tylla, Head of Food Chain Management at Bayer CropScience.
Growing prosperity in Brazil is increasing the likelihood of "diseases of civilization" occurring, such as cardiovascular disorders and childhood obesity as a result of a poor diet. Around 30 percent of the population in Brazil is under 15 years of age. Bayer CropScience and HortiBrasil have jointly developed a teaching program for schools as part of the Flavor Guarantee project. The foundations for a healthy nutrition are laid when children are still young, so a healthy approach to food needs to be a "major and regular component" of the school curriculum. "Students need to learn to eat healthily on a daily basis. Fresh fruit and vegetables play a major role here", Dinnouti emphasizes, adding that "the education program has met with great interest in schools, particularly among teachers."
This new food chain partnership project also covers several stages in the food chain, from small farmers who are growing quality products sustainably with the help of Bayer CropScience, through independent external controllers who certify the quality of the produce and attach a special label to the fruit, to the food traders at the Central Market in Sao Paulo. Luiz Dinnouti, Food Chain Manager at Bayer CropScience in Brazil and the manager of this project, comments: "The label ‘Garantia de Sabor’ (good flavour guaranteed) was developed to enable Brazilian consumers to immediately locate these high-quality, flavoursome products on the supermarket shelves." "We have contributed our many years of international experience with fruit growing to the project because, apart from the variety, the cultivation method is the major factor that contributes to the flavour of the produce", adds Dr. Birgitt Walz-Tylla, Head of Food Chain Management at Bayer CropScience.
Growing prosperity in Brazil is increasing the likelihood of "diseases of civilization" occurring, such as cardiovascular disorders and childhood obesity as a result of a poor diet. Around 30 percent of the population in Brazil is under 15 years of age. Bayer CropScience and HortiBrasil have jointly developed a teaching program for schools as part of the Flavor Guarantee project. The foundations for a healthy nutrition are laid when children are still young, so a healthy approach to food needs to be a "major and regular component" of the school curriculum. "Students need to learn to eat healthily on a daily basis. Fresh fruit and vegetables play a major role here", Dinnouti emphasizes, adding that "the education program has met with great interest in schools, particularly among teachers."
