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A Partnership Between Industry and Academic Research Targeting the Consumer Demand for Better Taste
Our Mission
It is widely appreciated that consumers are unhappy with the
flavor quality of many fruits
and vegetables. Tomatoes, strawberries and melons are three
prominent examples of
fruits whose taste profiles disappoint the average consumer.
Breeding for improved flavor has not been a high priority in the
industry, in large part because of the complexity of the
challenge. Technological advances now make that problem
tractable. Today we have an opportunity to develop premium, high
value products that can expand market
opportunities.
We have assembled a multi-disciplinary
team consisting of breeders, horticulturists,
molecular biologists, postharvest biologists and food
scientists. This team can take a
variety of fruit or vegetable from seed to consumer, assessing
its performance from field to supermarket. We call our approach
to identify the best possible varieties “consumer assisted
selection”. This top-down approach to germplasm screening will
identify the next generation of varieties for the industry as
well as elite germplasm for years to come.
Our center for flavor analysis offers
an integrated approach to flavor research, providing
the industry with a single entity capable of agronomic
evaluation, complete biochemical
profiling and consumer acceptability.