Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/838473
Lemon Curd S I M P L E I N G R E D I E N T S , H O M E M A D E T A S T E . ™ #bonnemaman_us www.bonnemaman.us For more info: World Finer Foods Inc. at info@worldfi ner.com Visit us at Booth # 1336 I N T R O D U C I N G 8. Fake Fruit to the Rescue Keeping fruit fresh during transport from the farm to the store shelf can be difficult. Refrigeration within shipping containers can't always be depended upon and current monitoring techniques sometimes don't work. Enter the artificial fruit sensor: a faux piece of fruit that collects data about core temperatures during the journey. While fruit core simulators are not new, this version, created by researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, promises more precise data thanks to a filling made from water, carbohydrates, and polystyrene. Made to look like an apple, orange, mango, or banana, the sensor mimics the exact composition of the fruit it is traveling with in order to get the most accurate readings. When a shipment has gone bad, the data can be analyzed to find out where things went wrong during travel. Researchers are developing separate sensors for different varieties of fruit, from Jonagold and Braeburn apples to Kent mangoes and Cavendish bananas. The technology is also relatively inexpensive at around $50 per sensor, and it can be used multiple times. These and more tech-savvy companies around the globe are taking on the food industry's biggest trends and challenges to bring produc- ers, sellers, and consumers the technology they need—or never knew they needed. PHOTO: SWISS FEDERAL LABORATORIES FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 1336 SUMMER 2017 61 Emily Crowe is a regular contributor to Specialty Food Magazine.