Fruit quality of Elstar en Santana in the Netherlands

Summary in the original language of the document

The growth of the market for Dutch organic apples is disappointing. Especially the large-scale introduction
in the supermarket channel is not happening as fast as many hoped. One of the explanations
given is that there is a gap between the quality as produced and the quality as expected by the
retailers. In a three year project the Louis Bolk Institute together with many other partners in the
sector have tried to facilitate talks on apple quality between actual partners in the different chains
from producer till retailer. During this period we monitored the quality of Elstar and Santana on
many farms and on the shelf in the different outlets. This has given us detailed information about
the current quality of Dutch organic apples. Presented here are some preliminary results of the
monitoring at the farms. The project will end mid 2004, final results will be published by the end of
the year. Progress of the project can be followed through the website www. louisbolk.
nl/projects/fruit/’classy apples’.