FUTURE INNOVATIONS IN TOMATO PROCESSING

While tremendous improvements in efficiency and cost of production have been made in the processing tomato industry world-wide over the past 100 years, there is still opportunity for innovation. For decades, processing tomatoes have been direct seeded in many parts of the world, however, over the past ten years the use of transplants has increased the success rate and yield of the crop. Likewise, the use drip rather than furrow irrigation has improved the grower’s control over production. Breeding of multi-use and extended field storage (EFS) cultivars has dominated in California and other locations.
On the processing side, higher value whole peel and diced tomato products have benefited from innovations in the peeling process. Advanced technologies which utilize less energy, and result in a higher quality product, are being studied and to some extent commercialized. These include electric field process such as ohmic, pulsed electric fields, microwave and radiofrequency as well as high pressure processing. Both production and processing of tomatoes is currently being carried out under more sustainable practices, and this will continue to be a goal for the future. This paper offers a birds-eye view of potential future advances, with a quick look at production improvements, and a more focused insight into potential process innovations.