BNPS.co.uk
Red Love Apple
The Redlove apple is red-fleshed right through to the core and is already being marketed in the United Kingdom
Last year the French fruit company IFO formed a consortium known as IFORED, to propagate and commercially test several varieties of red-fleshed apples over the next few years.
The term red-fleshed is somewhat misleading in that the range of apples being tested will range from a true red that goes right through the apple to other varieties that are approximately only a third red-fleshed or are tinged red only below the skin of the apple. The apple skin can be red, orange or bi-coloured.
Members of the consortium include farmers from Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.
Canadian producers are from Nova Scotia and Quebec, and are involved through participation in the Next Big Thing Cooperative. In total IFORED represents farmers selling 2 million tons of apples each year, grown on nearly 100,000 acres of land.
IFORED’s chairperson, Bruno Essner, says, “We are convinced that IFORED will put on the market some unique red flesh apples that will successfully appeal to consumers from all over the world.”
The Redlove apple, developed by a Swiss grower, is already being marketed in the United Kingdom.
Commercial plantings to test the new red varieties are expected to occur over the next two years in North America.