The Quality of Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are a valuable variety, introduced in Sicily (Italy) since 1889 by the Israeli company HAZERA GENETICS. Such was their success to fuel the idea that they were an indigenous product.

Daniele Tirelli & Antonello Vilardi

Originally published by RETAIL WATCH (www.retailwatch.it).

Cherry tomatoes are a valuable variety, introduced in Sicily (Italy) since 1889 by the Israeli company HAZERA GENETICS. Such was their success to fuel the idea that they were an indigenous product. 

This tomato owes its name not only to its elongated shape similar to a date, but also to the sweetness that makes it acceptable to women in particular, who uses it for salads.

The quality is worth it costs!

This is the reason for which it is sold, generally, packaged in sizes 250, 300 and 400 grams. 

In this way, as well as enhance it, it changes the perception of the price per kg, calling attention to the unit price. 

Typically the packaging is narrow and high, except, among those examined (COOP Supermarkets, November 11, 2014)  used a flat pan, that is one of those that allows the detailed view of the their content. 

Given the above, samples purchased, as a whole, showed these features:

1. the sugar degrees were distributed around an average of 6.6 °Brix, ranging from a minimum of 4.6 to a maximum of 9.7;
2. fruit weight ranged from 7.2 to 15.5 g., with an average of 12.1 grams;
3. the origins were mainly from Puglia and Sicily;
4. the pulp adequately solid, only in a couple of shops it was more elastic;
5. the pH ranged from 4.1 to 4.7, with an average of 4.4.

Thus, ultimately:

a) buying a kilo of cherry tomatoes in each teaches visited;

b) putting everything together; 

c) remembering the price of each product; 

d) making a weighted average of the prices. 

Whole, it emerges that:

1. 30% of the tomatoes on the market with less than 6 °Brix would be paid at an average price of €6.2 per kg;
2. similarly, the 70% of the berries with more than 6 °Brix (7.2 °Brix on average) would cost €5.8 per kg (evidently less than blander).

So we have further confirmation of the fact that, under conditions of imperfect competition broadly, the pure monetary prices do not reflect the quality. 

We would therefore remember a "theorem" resulting from consumer studies:

“An excellent tomato added to a poor tomato do not make a medium tomato, but in the sedimentation of memory, two second-rate tomatoes!” (…as evidenced by a foot bath with one foot in boiling water and the other in the icy water).

In conclusion, our congratulations go to retailer IL GIGANTE and its suppliers who had cherry tomatoes by:

• 8 ° Brix average;

• PH = 5.5;

• caliber of 9.7 gr;

• with firm flesh; 

It should also be emphasized:

• qualitative homogeneity: 68% of the product was within “+” or “-“ 0.8 °Brix; 

• the price of €5.50 per kg; 

• we are not (considering also the season) still close to the peaks of the “Sun Sugar” and “Sweet Baby Girl” (which go well beyond the threshold of 10 degrees Brix), tested at WHOLE FOODS in Las Vegas, but the offer of IL GIGANTE, in Italy, was not so distant…