Angello pepper

British food retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has claimed first place in the race to sell the world's first seedless pepper and, in doing so, will offer consumers a greater level of convenience when it comes to eating the vegetable, especially when it is consumed raw.

The trademarked variety Angello, is the product of a 15-year breeding programme run by M&S, supplier Melrow Salads and vegetable seed developer Syngenta, is not only seedless but is also said to be extra crunchy and reportedly offers a sweeter taste than any other pepper on sale at present.

According to M&S, Angello has a brix sugar level around 25 per cent higher than conventional, seeded peppers.

Zeina Orfali, resident pepper expert at M&S, suggested the process of removing seeds from traditional peppers had held the product back in terms of its popularity.

'We know that seeds in peppers can be a real pain for our customers who want to enjoy them straight from the pack or cook speedy-suppers with them, so we decided to develop the first seedless pepper so our customers can enjoy this delicious vegetable on the go,' she said. 'No need to de-seed.'

Grown in southern Spain, Israel and the Netherlands, the new sweet, seedless Angello baby pepper is an entirely new variety.

Producer Bernard Sparkes, who supplies M&S and worked on the development of Angello, said he was really excited to be helping to introduce a new product to the market.

'We enjoy working with M&S on special projects like these. It's really exciting to introduce an amazing new variety of vegetable to the high street,' he commented.

'Not only does it save time, but it tastes delicious, better than any other pepper on the high street. We hope M&S customers enjoy the pepper as much as we have developing it.'

Luciano Fioramonti, business manager at Syngenta, added: 'We hope that we'll be able to convert people who don't normally like peppers with our delicious Angello. It's the ultimate healthy convenience food.'

M&S seedless Angello peppers went on sale on 4 December priced £1.79 (€2.08) per 100g pack.

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