Dutch group Enza Zaden has been handed the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the fresh produce industry, for its Sweet Green Pepper product.

The company, which finished runner-up in the 2008 awards with its Ugurke cucumber, came out on top following two days of voting at the Berlin event, which took place on 4-6 February at the Berlin Exhibition Centre in Germany.

Visitors to the trade fair chose from a shortlist of 10 products and services that had been picked by an expert panel of judges and then displayed on the Fruit Logistica Innovation Award stand.

The Sweet Green Pepper possesses a strong green colour and a sugar content of 45mg/g, up to 30 per cent higher than traditional green peppers, giving it a sweet taste. Vitamin content is around 30 per cent higher than other varieties of green pepper, according to Enza Zaden.

'We are extremely proud of this award,' said Chris Groot, marketing project manager at Enza Zaden. 'It's a big compliment to our seed breeding department and to the grower.'

The School Apple Project, sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Organic Fruit from the Altes Land Region of Germany, took second place in addition to a special jury prize. Third place was handed to Italian group TR Turoni for its portable DA-Meter ripeness tester.

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