Tell us about it! Are you one of those who chooses to take the whole piece of melon or watermelon home, or are you fond of choosing it in halves?
Melon and watermelon halves are a format that have gained many fans in recent years. There are several reasons for this, the most common of which are listed below. On the one hand, there is the profile of families, which have fewer and fewer members, in addition to a growing number of people living alone. For them, this format of halves facilitates consumption. On the other hand, there is the economic factor. If you buy half of the fruit, its cost is reduced. And then there are the people who prefer to see what they are buying. If the piece is open, you can see what it looks like inside and make a more informed choice for your melon or watermelon.
At Peris we have been producing watermelon and melon halves for 7 years. In the case of melon, the growth of our sales of this product format up to 2021 has been 198%, from 146 thousand to 434 thousand kilos per year. Watermelon in halves and quarters has remained stable. We started in 2016 with 430 thousand kilos and in 2021 we sold more than 471 thousand kilos . These are important figures that show how these fruit formats are very popular with consumers.
If you already know us, you will know that one of the hallmarks of our company is that we only sell high quality fruits and vegetables. Peris melons and watermelons are famous in the market precisely because of this value, and the pieces we sell in halves maintain this condition.
Food safety in melon and watermelon halves
Food safety is one of the most sensitive and important aspects in the processing of melon and watermelon halves, as in any cut fruit (fresh-cut) process.
cut fruit (pre-prepared convenience food).
That is why at Peris we carry out these works in our clean room, a 400 square meter space where the temperature does not exceed 8 ºC. The correct handling of the product and the sanitization of utensils and work surfaces. The clean room is ISO 7 certified, a certification required by laboratories. The air in this space is constantly renewed by microfiltration.
The care we take in the handling and cutting of melon and watermelon halves is completed with their packaging. The process of working with melon and watermelon halves is completed with their packaging. The half-pieces are protected by a heat-shrinkable film, which is mechanically incorporated in the clean room itself. This allows the use of a minimum amount of this polypropylene plastic, which is also recyclable.
The film is sealed, so that the fruit is totally isolated from the outside environment, which affects food safety and gives it an extra shelf life. At the same time, it prevents loss of juices and allows for proper handling and transport, which increases the quality of the process.
The cold in the processing of cut fruit, essential to avoid intoxication.
Cold is a great ally in the fresh-cut work processes. Interestingly, the need to perform this task cold, as well as keeping the cut fruit refrigerated, are so far recommendations. However, new regulations will soon be published to regulate these processes in order to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
In this blog we have already talked about the ‘Report of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) on the conditions of conservation of fruit cut in half in retail establishments’. This document makes it clear that storage at room temperature of melon, watermelon, papaya and pineapple cut in half may pose a health risk, since the physicochemical conditions are compatible with the growth of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli or Listeria monocytogenes.
At Peris, we have been working since the beginning of our activity with fresh cut products along the lines indicated in this report. In the case of melon and watermelon halves, not only are they cut in a refrigerated environment, but the cold chain is not broken until the product reaches the retail trade.
And this is the way they should be in the points of sale, refrigerated. This is complicated to incorporate for stores and supermarkets, because it requires refrigerators, space, logistics… However, it is the only way to keep the fruit in good condition and avoid by all means the generation of pathogens that give us a summer scare, the result of a food poisoning.