CityCube Berlin

The tenth international Frutic Symposium, which focuses on the quality and safety of fresh horticultural commodities, is being held at the CityCube Berlin in February 2017, to coincide with Fruit Logistica.

Keynote speakers will include leading international experts, such as professor Hidemi Izumi of Kindai University (Japan), professor Dr Maria Isabel Gil of the Spanish National Research Council in Murcia (Spain) and professor Christopher Watkins of Cornell University (USA).

The topics addressed will include technological developments in production, harvesting and post-harvest processing as well as in quality controls for fruit, vegetables and nuts.

Among other aspects, the sessions will deal with how pre-harvest conditions influence the post-harvest quality, non-destructive methods of determining quality, and the targeted post-harvest treatment of fruit and vegetables.

Innovative packaging and storage concepts will also be presented, such as new processes for sensor-supported quality monitoring, and an approach for optimising packaging and storage systems based on mathematical modelling.

In the field of product safety, the programme will include technologies for fresh-cut products and the use of plasma-based decontamination processes.

Scientists will also present their topics during the subsequent three days of the Fruit Logistica trade fair, in both the Fresh Produce Forum and the Future Lab.

Frutic not only provides a platform for researchers and practitioners to engage in energetic technical discussions about current trends and new developments; it's also about exploring further areas of research needed in the industry.

The Frutic Symposium will be organised jointly by the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (Germany) and the University of Foggia (Italy) in cooperation with the Fruit Logistica.

Frutic is a series of international scientific conferences, the first of which took place in Israel in 1983. Over the years, Frutic has developed into an important platform for the development and application of technologies for fruit, vegetable and nut production, bringing together leading researchers from around the globe. Its new venue will now also attract representatives from the industry.