EU: Popma spreading the word about fruit ripening

Frits Popma is the managing director of Popma Fruit Expertise. Frits has been active in the fresh produce industry since 1973. He has worked with many of the leading fruit and vegetable companies through out his career, including Chiquita, SVZ and also the Port of Antwerp, being responsible for, amongst other things, quality control in bananas and tropical fruit he has worked in Europe and South America.

Frits has also been involved in setting up new ripening systems throughout the world.

In 2001, he founded POPMA Fruit Expertise, an advising firm specialized in ripening tropical products. The services include, training ripeners and their staff, supply chain management, project management for new construction of ripening rooms and problem solving techniques, like reducing waste figures and improving sales.

In the last couple of years Frits has visited many countries to discuss construction and development of ripening facilities. He has been as far a field as the Philippines, China, Saudi Arabia, South America and South Africa as well as Europe. Frits has been consulting with companies such as Good Farmer, Chiquita and SAFE.

Moveable packing banana packing station in Brazil.

Frits's work is not only limited to bananas, but he also been giving advice on pre-cooling of melons and the ripening of mangoes.

He is also planning to go to India to work on ripening in the south, but also to work on the supply chain of bananas for the domestic retail markets.

For more information:
Frits Popma
Popma Fruit Expertise
Mobile: 0031 65 118 8669
fpopma@westbrabant.net
www.popmafruitexpertise.nl