Orlando, Fla – The National Mango Board (NMB) will host a free Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Conference on March 26, 2015 at the Hilton Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, CA. The conference will be divided into three sessions that will focus on the following topics: 1) The What, Why and How, of the Mango Ripening Program; 2) Technical Challenges of Ripening Mangos; and 3) How Fruit Ripening Affects Sales.
Over the years, the NMB has done extensive research that demonstrates that ripe fruit has higher acceptance rates within consumers. Armed with this information, the Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Program (RRTEMP) was designed to provide U.S. consumers with a quality fruit that is ripe and ready to eat by the time of purchase. This program provides mangos with a marketing advantage by eliminating the obstacle for consumers purchasing fruit short of its desired ripeness.
The NMB has developed multiple tools such as minimum maturity indices, temperature management protocols and fruit sensory descriptions to encourage a quality product throughout the supply chain. In addition, the NMB has created a Mango Handling and Ripening Protocol, designed to help improve mango handling practices in the U.S., leading to better quality mangos, greater consumer acceptance, and higher mango sales. Topics covered in the protocol include; Mango Maturity and Ripeness, Mango Temperature Management, Mango Storage and Transportation, and Mango Handling and Merchandising at the Store.
“The purpose of this conference is to bring together fruit ripening experts and share their knowledge and experience with mango stakeholders interested in learning more about the challenges and opportunities of ripening mangos,” stated NMB Executive Director Manuel Michel. “If you want to learn first-hand from those who already have successful ripening programs, I strongly encourage you to attend this free conference. In addition, it will be a great opportunity to meet other like-minded mango industry members. It’s not every day that you can bring this much fruit ripening expertise and knowledge to a single location.”
The conference will showcase an experienced fruit ripening panel that have knowledge in successful ripening programs. The following is a list of conference speakers who will be in attendance:
- Bo Brett, Chief Operating Officer, Mountain View Fruit
- Gary Campisi, Sr. Director of Quality Control, Wal-Mart Stores
- Dr. Carlos Crisosto, University of California at Davis
- Jan Delyser, VP of Marketing, California Avocado Commission
- Dennis Kihlstadius, Chief Executive Officer, Produce Technical Services
- Wendy McManus, Retail Program Manager, National Mango Board
- James Merkel, Fruit Ripener, Raley’s Supermarkets
- Dr. Jorge Osuna Garcia, Mexico’s National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP)
This conference will be held in English with Spanish translation provided.
For more information on mango handling best practices, visit mango.org/retail/best-practices. For a copy of the mango Handling and Ripening Protocol, visit mango.org/industry/production-and-post-harvest-practices.
Please RSVP for the Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Conference to Anna Deschamps-Polonia by emailing APolonia@mango.org.
About National Mango Board
The National Mango Board is an agriculture promotion group, which is supported by assessments from both domestic and imported mangos. The board was designed to drive awareness and consumption of fresh mangos in the U.S. The superfruit mango contains 100 calories, an excellent source of vitamins A and C, a good source of fiber and an amazing source of tropical flavor.
Mango availability per capita has increased 53 percent since 2005 to an estimated 2.87 pounds per year in 2013. Mango import volume for 2013 was 935 million pounds. Learn more at www.mango.org.
Source: National Mango Board
