When we shop for apples at the supermarket, the first thing we look out for before putting them into our shopping basket is whether or not their skins are flawless (without dents or rots), or if the apples have ripen. Beyond that, we can't really tell about the firmness of an apple (unless we poke at it) and its level of ethylene, a natural plant hormone that stimulates fruits to ripen but can also cause it to go bad. From the ethylene, scientists are able to estimate the age of the fruit and rate its quality. A high ethylene level indicates that the fruit is overripe while a high firmness rating means better quality apples.
Recently, samples of Granny Smiths were taken from 3 supermarkets in Sydney - Woolwhorths, Coles and the Northen Street Grocer in Bondi Junction. Woolworth scored the worst with samples of 10 months old while the other two scored an equally bad 9 1/2 months old in storage. All samples were Australian homegrown apples. The test was a result of the talks within the industry about the 'Birthday Apples" - apples there were a year old when they hit the shelves.
According to Stephen Morris, the principal research scientist at the independent Sydney Postharvest Laboratory, apples can be kept for 6 months and still remain in very good quality. After nine months, its freshness deteoriates. After this study was conducted, Dr Morris advised Australians to go for mangoes rather than apples now because all the apples on sales at this moment would be at least 8 months old. So why are apples stored but not put on the shelves immediately after they are harvested?
Woolworths Chief Executive, Michael Luscombe, reasoned that customers want apples all year round. All apples are kept in cold storage under controlled conditions from the time they are picked. It helps to slow the ripening process but inevitably, its freshness is compromised as compared to the apple that were plucked straight off the tree. Mr Luscombe suggested that the alternative option beside cold storage is not to have apples all year round or to buy apples of poorer quality from the northern hemisphere. Although Woolworths have advertised itself as "the fresh food people", their apples are of the worst quality. After this suprising discovery by The Sun-Herald, Woolworths realised the importance of customers education.
A spokeman for Coles said that the technology for storing apples is now very sophisticated. Whatever that means.
Singapore imports large bulk of our apples from the U.S. Until The Straits Times decides to investigate the freshness of apples sold at NTUC or Cold Storage (which I doubt so), we shall assume their apples are truly fresh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
