Apr 7, 2007

Word is Out About SmartFresh

In October 2004, the Atlantic Journal-Constitution carried a front-page article in the Living Section about SmartFresh. This is the first time that SmartFresh has received such prominent attention in a syndicated, major metropolitan newspaper in the United States.

The article, written by Elizabeth Lee, was entitled “Apples Stay at Ripe Young Age with New Gas” and can be seen online at www.ajc.com. Click on “archives” and enter either the title or the author’s name. After reading the title, I was afraid to read the story. Anytime someone refers to apples and gas in the same sentence, I usually expect the worst.

The author states that: “Researchers are evaluating whether tinkering with the ripening process will help produce tastier supermarket tomatoes, sweeter cantaloupe and greener avocados. For now those are experiments. For apples, the future is here. This winter about half of the apples sold in U.S. supermarkets will be treated with SmartFresh.”

Lee goes on to say that only approved two years ago by the EPA, 1-methylcyclpropene has stormed the apple industry and compares the product to many other industry tools that are used to slow or control ripening, from waxes on apples to pesticides, special packaging and controlled atmosphere storage. After reminding consumers of all of these tools, she goes on to mention the Flavorsavr GMO tomatoes of a few years ago, which were labeled ‘Frankenfood’ by critics. Although she states that SmartFresh is not a genetically modified organism and explains how it blocks ethylene, just mentioning GMO’s could be damaging.

What the author did emphasize over and over was that this product would allow an apple to be stored for 14 months, and she quotes a scientist from the Pesticide Action Network North America saying, “Why would anyone want to preserve an apple for more than a year before it is sent to market?”

Raphael Crawford, marketing and communications manager for AgroFresh, Inc. said: “The article covers many facts about SmartFresh, but in our opinion, the consumer benefits of taste and crunch are worth emphasizing even further over the ability to store apples longer. Ultimately, the ability of the apple industry to increase quality will benefit consumers and the entire apple industry and we wish that this had received more attention in the article.”

Gray Wirth, president of AgroFresh, Inc. was quoted in the article as saying: “That making sure fresh, flavorful produce is on hand may persuade Americans to choose fruits and vegetables rather than fast food. Our vision is to work with our customers to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables around the world by increasing their quality and availability.”

Since the registration of SmartFresh and after seeing the results on many of our New York varieties, the NYAA has made every attempt to promote the “crunch” and the “enhanced quality” of our apples throughout the year. In one particular trade advertising campaign last January, we told retailers to “delight your customers with the New York State winter crop” and “Out of the cold, but not out of the Crunch.” In both cases, the message was simple; New York’s winter apples are still crunchy and eat great.

Later in the winter we challenged retailers to take the “Bite Me” Empire test. All of our messages stayed away from identifying SmartFresh or talking about gas or chemicals to maintain freshness. Our “enhanced quality” was the message and the proof was in the eating of the apple.

Well, the secret is now out there, and unfortunately using terms such as gas, pesticides, 14-month old storage apples, GMO and Frankenfood, are not the positive consumer images that we were trying to leave with our customers. Rest assured that our message remains the same, the reason why the apple eats great is far less important than the “Eating Experience!”