'Holy grail' breakthrough gives year-round UK pears

A breakthrough in storage technology has resulted in home-grown pears being kept in prime condition for longer than the UK season, which lasts from September until May, Tesco said.

It said the achievement by Tesco’s biggest pear supplier, Kent-based Adrian Scripps Ltd, will allow UK retailers to cut down on importing out-of-season pears from countries like Holland and Spain.

Tesco said a successful trial of Conference pears at its stores over the last three months had resulted in it being able to offer year-round English pears.

Tesco pear buyer David Croxson said: “Achieving all-year-round availability for UK-grown pears has long been the holy grail for our home pear industry.

“It has never been done on a commercial scale because the cost of the precision machinery needed to keep vast amounts of pears suitably chilled during storage has been prohibitive.”

Adrian Scripps Ltd has invested in a 60,000 storage centre and machinery which allows pears to be monitored at every stage, from picking to when they are brought to store. The process involves checking the fruit for firmness and sugar levels while they are still on the tree to ensure they are at their optimum level for storage.