Looking for some fun facts for your point-of-sale material? Here are some of the ones we collected from grower-shippers for the cover story in the July-August issue of Produce Retailer magazine.
It makes sense to start with the basics: How do you pick a ripe papaya? According to The Packer's Fresh Trends consumer survey, only 17% of people feel comfortable selecting the fruit ripe for immediate consumption.
Papayas stymied shoppers more than any other fruit discussed on the survey question. Twenty-eight percent of shoppers in the top income bracket reported being comfortable selecting the fruit, and that number was 16% or lower for the other income groups. Confidence level didn’t vary as significantly by region or age, but ethnicity played a role. Asians (30%) and Hispanics (19%) were more comfortable choosing a ripe papaya than African Americans and Caucasians (both 14%).
“Whether buying the small Brazilian golden variety or the large formosa papaya variety, shoppers should choose fruits with about 1-2 stripes of color and let them ripen at room temperature,” said Melissa Hartmann de Barros, director of communications for Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based HLB Specialties. “The fruit will be ready to eat with 2-3 stripes of color.”
Mary Ostlund, marketing director at Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals, notes that putting a papaya in a paper bag with an apple or banana will make it ripen more quickly.
Papaya Fun Facts
- “Most papayas available on mainland U.S. are non-GMO, which is something not many shoppers know,” Hartmann de Barros said. “Lots of consumers stay away from papayas because they are told that papayas are genetically modified … It’s a myth we’ve been trying to dispel for two decades now. Papayas from Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala are never genetically modified or irradiated.”
- Papain is an extract from the papaya that is used as a meat tenderizer, said Jessie Capote, executive vice president and co-owner of Miami-based J&C Tropicals.
- “Papayas are grown on a plant that has a skinny column,” Ostlund said. “At the top is an umbrella of long soft branches with big leaves on their ends. The fruit grows around the column in a spiral ending near the top, just under the branches. As the spiral of fruit advances up the growing taller papaya plant, the lowest branch with its big leaf will fall making room for more fruit.”
- “They are also a great digestive aid, thanks to an enzyme that helps break down protein,” Hartmann de Barros said. “So next time you have a heavy meal or a big piece of steak, have some papaya afterwards and you will thank the papaya gods!”
Know something that should be on this list but is not? Give us a shout — we'd love to add it.
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