Through the new user-driven research project "Økologiske epler for Norge" (Organic apples for Norway) 5-8 new strains of organic apples have been developed, all of which are resistant to scab and meet the demands of consumers with regards to taste.
"Consumer testing that has been done in schools, hotels and in shops show that the new strains of organic apples score as high on flavor as both other organic strains and regular Norwegian strains," Anne Segtnan, the leader of Nofima Mat's sensory panel, explains.
Demand for sweet and juicy apples
Before the taste tests the professional sensory judges at Nofima Mat sorted the apple strains according to sensory qualities such as sweet, juicy, fruity, crisp, mealy, sour and bitter.
Sweet, juicy and crisp apples with lots of fruity flavor were among the favorites. Conversely, mealy, sour and bitter apples were given low scores. New organic and robust strains like Your Choice and Ingelin along with the most sold strains in the world; Golden Delicious, Royal Gala and Grammy Smith, were among the favorites. Strains like Rød Gravenstein, Åkerø and Summer Red scored significantly lower.
The new organic apple strains Your Choice and Ingelin have advantages beyond the fact that they are given high scores in taste tests. They are robust and resistant against scab, thus reducing the need for pesticides.
A paradox to allow copper in pesticides
The apple producers at Økofrukt, Olav Jønsi and Alf Kigen, the Norwegian producers of organic apples that have taken part in the project, believe it is a paradox that Norway is now considering whether the use of copper should be allowed in pesticides for organic apples (as is the case in many countries within the EU).
"Our operation shows that it is fully possibly to produce organic apples in a financially profitable way without the use of copper," Olav Jønsi explains. He and his fellow producer Alf Kigen fear the consequences of allowing the use of copper in pesticides: "Not only because such tampering with organic produce will lead to consumers losing faith in the product, but also because the incentive to conduct research and develop robust strains is lost."
When asked what they value when buying organic products, two of Økofrukt's biggest customers, Coop Norge and Choice Hotels, respectively, reply that they want products that are as clean as possible. In Denmark, the argument that pesticides containing copper has not been used, is used to promote sales.
"Would allowing the use of copper for this purpose in Norway be sensible, considering the fact that we have now developed organic strains of apples that are robust enough not to require this?" Olav Jønsi asks.
This project has been funded in part by The Research Council of Norway through The Food Programme and The Foundation for Research Levy on Agricultural Products.
