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Taste and quality

A thorough understanding of growing techniques is key to producing tomatoes that boast both taste and quality

Faut-il être moche pour être naturelle ?

Absolument pas.

La filière vertueuse du goût

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PEOPLE AND THE PASSING-ON OF "GREEN KNOW-HOW"

A thorough understanding of growing techniques is key to producing tasty tomatoes. Many factors need to be taken into account to ensure good crop-growing:

 

  • Light intensity: the sugar content in the plant is a function of photosynthetic activity.

     

    Planting density: When well managed, leaf stripping can help increase the radiation intercepted by the plant and thus the speed of maturation of the fruit, which fosters higher sugar concentration.

     

    Maturity at harvest: The sugar-acid ratio depends on the fruit’s stage of maturity on the plant. The soluble sugars thus accumulate over time, while acids deteriorate.

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FROM VARIETY SELECTION TO TASTE FORMATION

It is important to understand that the choice of variety is the first factor influencing the way tomatoes taste... Over the years, the Savéol cooperative has developed close and trusting relationships with grain houses. A joint effort aimed at identifying and testing the varieties that are the tastiest.

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THE ENTIRE SECTOR MOBILISED TO BRING THE TASTIEST FRUITS TO THE MARKET

The harvest, when the fruit is detached from the plant, marks the interface between production and its route to the consumer. Once harvested, the fruit continues to develop. By understanding the physiological phenomena that cause it to change, we can the identify environmental constraints and factors that ultimately affect the quality of the product.

 

THIS IS WHY A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NEEDED AT THIS POINT :

 

Tomatoes are sensitive to cold. The volatile compounds in tomatoes that shape to the sensory perception in the mouth are sensitive to changes in temperature.

 

The texture of the product is also affected.

 

Compliance with the temperature recommendations when storing products, from the time they leave the cooperative to their arrival on the consumer's plate, is therefore a major factor in making tomatoes guaranteed to be bursting with taste!

 

The optimal storage temperatures to keep our fruits in their best condition is 12 to 14°C, for tomatoes picked when ripe. This means that at home, you should keep them at room temperature!

 

The hygrometry is also an important factor and should be between 80% and 90%.

PRODUCERS COMMITTED TO CREATING TASTY SENSATIONS!

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More than 1,000 Brix measurements (indicating sugar level) are taken from March to October when fruit and vegetables arrive at the conditioning sites.

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Internal and external sensory analyses are implemented

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All market gardeners are equipped with refractometers so they can keep close watch over the sugar level of their production on a daily basis.

THE TOMATO, YOUR HEALTH’S BEST FRIEND

With their low calorie count, at only 16kcal per 100 grams, tomatoes don’t impact your figure! Made up of approximately 94% water and 2% carbohydrates, tomatoes help keep your appetite in control while also quenching thirst. 

HOW TOMATOES

DO THE BODY GOOD!

Tomatoes boast many qualities thanks to their content in :

 

  • Lycopene 0.5 to 5mg/100g which contributes to preventing numerous cancers and cardiovascular diseases
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin B9 essential for our metabolism, especially for pregnant women
  • Minerals and essential trace elements: magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

 

Also, being rich in fibre, it stimulates digestion and good assimilation of meals.

 

A nutrition tip ! Enjoying your tomatoes with olive oil improves the assimilation of pro-vitamin A and lycopene.

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Today’s lifestyles can undermine our nutritional balance. However, fast food does not have to mean poor food hygiene.

 

Savéol is developing new snacking concepts with healthy fruits and vegetables that hold on to all their vitamins to help ensure a good food balance.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AT SAVÉOL

The Quality Team defines and ensures compliance with the specifications both within the greenhouses and at the packaging stations. The fruits’ colour, calibre and ripeness are closely monitored and around one hundred audits are carried out each year. Product quality is a priority from the research and development phase, to ensure the new varieties will respond well in the greenhouses.

Cathy Hetet

Savéol is part of a high-end quality approach. This means that producers are involved in defining the specifications that will result in a perfect match for market expectations. To embellish the range without taking into account greenhouse feasibility, or offer only productive varieties is to ignore the needs of the future.

Cathy Hetet
Quality, Safety and Environment Director