A passion for vegetables wins Peter Gestry the John Stewart Shield
Peter Gestry pictured with adjudicators Paul Fox NSch and Emma Penny, Editor Farmers Guardian.
The award of the John Stewart Shield for the Best Presentation at the 2009 Nuffield Conference went to Peter Gestry for his delivery of 'Vegetable innovation and processing', beating 28 other speakers.
In his energetic and passionate presentation - the final report of the Conference - Peter eagerly told his audience that he enjoyed every moment of his Nuffield experience, not least because of his genuine passion for his work and, in particular, his fascination for his area of expertise - potatoes and parsnips, but particularly carrots.
"We are all aware that vegetables are extremely beneficial to our health," he pointed out. "On average, however, we only eat three out of our five recommended portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
"As the same time, there is huge pressure on growers to produce blemish free products, demanding specifications that require growers to spend millions on unnecessary agrochemicals and millions on research and development to understand and correct skin disorders."
Peter's trip allowed him to take a global overview on the innovative techniques adopted by growers, suppliers and the retailers to further market the consumption of fruit and vegetables and assess their potential suitability for the UK.
He set out to look for innovations in all areas of vegetable production, from seed breeding through to mechanical inspection, and came back with firm recommendations of how to turn a low value product into a higher value food, whilst increasing retained profit for the grower.
His recommendations include:
- A re-evaluation of product lines on prepared vegetables, adding greater variety and replacing vegetables which have been air-freighted in with traditional, home grown vegetable lines
- Increased uptake in camera grading technology and robotic stacking to reduce labour
- Increased uptake of new technology for auto topping and peeling
- The introduction of vegetable snack packs. conveying health messages and providing convenience
- Collaboration between growers and smaller multiples/regional stores to launch and develop new brands
Peter discovered that a potential way to significantly increase the value of carrots is to produce a juice. Producing a product that is fresh, passes the taste test and is consistent all the year round, is not without its hurdles, however.
In the US, Bolthouse Farms currently produce a pasteurised product with a shelf life of 50 days - a product which has involved huge investment and a high capacity factory, but is not without its taste and food safety issues. In Poland, on the other hand, Jednodniowy producers a fresh product which has a great flavour, but a shelf life of only 48 hours.
Peter's answer is 'juice on demand', a juicing dispenser for the high street where consumers can purchase their very own, fresh, 'just-in-time' carrot juice.
Watch this space, as Peter starts testing his prototype for a 'Juist Carrots'... on demand dispenser!
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