The National Mango Board (NMB) nears the end of 2016 wrapping up its continued research efforts. Nutritional, postharvest and food safety research support the mango industry by discovering additional health benefits of mangos, and increasing mango quality in the U.S.
In today’s age, consumers are becoming increasingly more health conscious and no longer view nutritional information as negotiable. To fit this new model of consumer expectations, the NMB has funded numerous research studies about the phytochemical compounds and nutritive value of mangos and their relation to human health. Alongside the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals mangos provide, there is growing research that many polyphenolic compounds found in mangos may be linked to positive health benefits. The NMB continues to conduct research regarding breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, digestion, glucose response, metabolism, and cardiovascular health. Further research and the discovery of new, positive health benefits from eating mango could have a major impact on future mango sales.
In 2016, the NMB also pressed the importance of postharvest practices. From the tree to the consumer’s plate, every step in the mango supply chain presents an opportunity to improve quality. Currently, the NMB performs extensive research projects on nondestructive maturity assessment, packaging studies, temperature management, technologies to extend mango shelf life, anthracnose, lenticel issues, and mango cutting black. These research efforts provide a clear understanding of how quality can improve through better production, postharvest and handling practices. Please visit mango.org/research for more details on postharvest practices research.
Food safety tools proved an important role for the NMB in 2016. In conjunction with expert Dr. Sergio Nieto-Montenegro of Food Safety Consulting & Training Solutions, LLC, the NMB developed a training kit for farms, packinghouses, and importer warehouses to educate industry workers on best practices regarding food safety. These training kits include instruction guides, posters, PowerPoint lessons, training logs, and flipcharts for employee use. It is becoming exceedingly important to provide consumers the confidence to buy a safe product; when products are recalled or cause illness, often the entire industry is negatively impacted. Providing high quality mangos requires full commitment to safety and quality by each mango industry member to ensure consumers will purchase mangos consistently.
For industry convenience, these training kits are now available for download in various languages through the apple store and google android platform. For more information about food safety, please visit: www.mangofoodsafety.org.
The NMB will continue its commitment to Nutrition, Postharvest, and Food Safety research well into 2017. Visit mango.org for more information, and stay tuned for upcoming new projects.
Contact:
Angela Serna
National Mango Board
Tel: (407) 629-7318 ext. 113