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Winners declared at greenhouse competitions
June 16, 2019 By Greenhouse Canada
(L to R) Back row: Jeff Hammond (Pure Flavor), Benny Teichroeh (NatureFresh Farms), Steve Stasko (Orangeline Farms), Matt Quiring (NatureFresh Farms), Front Row: Fernanda Albuquerque (Mucci Farms), Milla Mastronardi (Sunset Produce) Greenhouse growers and marketers put their best produce forward at the 12th annual Greenhouse Competitions in Leamington, Ont.
Hosted by non-profit organization R.E.A.CH. International, the competitions were held from June 14 to 16, 2019 at the Leamington Fair. Funds raised from the competition will be used to sponsor more than 50 children in Uganda, Africa, to provide food, school supplies, medicine and other supplies needed for education and to break the cycle of poverty.
The competitions also celebrate Essex County as home to the largest greenhouse sector in North America.
Presented in part by NatureFresh Farms, Red Sun Farms, QU Truck Bodies and UCB Canada, the competitions were broken down into four different categories: The Hottest Tomato, The Perfect Pepper, The Coolest Cucumber and The Sweetest Strawberry. The judging panel included experts from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), produce managers from local grocers, chefs from the Culinary Guild of Windsor, among others.
Members of the public also had their say, voting for their favourite tomato, pepper, cucumber and strawberry in the People’s Choice awards. “Our Kids’ Choice voters were especially excited about the Strawberry category!” notes Art Barron, president of R.E.A.C.H. International.
There were several big winners, and NatureFresh was one of them, winning best overall tomato and cucumber. “We have an amazing team who works very hard to ensure our produce has top-notch flavor paired with consistency. Winning the highest overall honors across the board is a great testament to what our team can accomplish; it is more than just about showcasing the best that we grow, it is about our commitment to continuing to push our categories in the right direction,” says NatureFresh’s executive retail sales account manager, Matt Quiring.
Here were the winners of the 2019 competitions:
Hottest Tomato Competition
| Category | Place | Producer/Product |
| Beefsteak | 1st | NatureFresh Beefsteak |
| 2nd | Pure Flavor Beefsteak | |
| 3rd | Sunset Slicer Beef | |
| Cluster | 1st | NatureFresh Ontario Red 1 |
| 2nd | Red Sun Farms Petites | |
| 3rd | NatureFresh Ontario Red 2 | |
| Roma | 1st | Pure Flavor Roma |
| 2nd | NatureFresh Roma | |
| 3rd | Sunset Roma | |
| Cocktail | 1st | Sunset Cocktail 1 |
| 2nd | Sunset Kumato | |
| 3rd | Sunset Cocktail 2 | |
| Specialty | 1st | NatureFresh Tomz Orange Cherry |
| 2nd | Sunset Flavour Bombs | |
| 3rd | Sunset Sugar Bombs | |
| Bite Size | 1st | Mucci Farms Cherto |
| 2nd | Lakeside Produce sweetella | |
| 3rd | Red Sun Sweet Pops |
Overall Best: NatureFresh Tomz Orange Cherry
People’s Choice: NatureFresh Tomberry
Kid’s Choice: NatureFresh Tomberry
Coolest Cucumber Competition
| Category | Place | Producer/Product |
| English | 1st | NatureFresh English Cucumber |
| 2nd | Pure Flavor English | |
| 3rd | Sunset English | |
| Mini | 1st | Amco Mini |
| 2nd | NatureFresh Mini Seedless | |
| 3rd | Red Sun Mini Seedless | |
| Cocktail | 1st | Sunset Cocktail Cukes |
| 2nd | Mucci Farms Cutecumbers | |
| 3rd | Topline Cocktail |
Overall Best: NatureFresh English Cucumber
People’s Choice: Sunset Cloud Cukes
Kid’s Choice: Sunset Cloud Cukes
Perfect Pepper Competition
| Category | Place | Producer/Product |
| Red Bell Pepper | 1st | Pure Flavor Red Bell |
| 2nd | Del Fresco | |
| 3rd | Sunset Red Bell | |
| Yellow Bell Pepper | 1st | Del Fresco |
| 2nd | Pure Flavor Yellow Bell | |
| 3rd | NatureFresh Yellow Bell | |
| Orange Bell Pepper | 1st | Sunset Orange Bell |
| 2nd | NatureFresh Orange Bell | |
| 3rd | Orangeline Orange Bell | |
| Specialty Mini Pepper | 1st (tied) | Mucci Farms Sweet to the Point |
| 1st (tied) | NatureFresh Red Snack | |
| 2nd | NatureFresh Orange Snack | |
| Specialty Bell Pepper | 1st | Sunset Aloha Pepper |
| 2nd | Amco Produce | |
| 3rd | Orangeline Chocolate Bell | |
| Specialty Long Pepper | 1st | Sunset Red Sweet Twister |
| 2nd | NatureFresh Yellow Long | |
| 3rd | Mucci Farms Rustico | |
| Specialty Hot Pepper | 1st | Orangeline Spicy Chef Sampler |
| 2nd | Sunset Kaboom | |
| 3rd | Pure Flavor Stingrays |
| Overall Best (tied): Mucci Farms Sweet to the Point; NatureFresh Red Snack People’s Choice: Orangeline Brown Shepherd Kid’s Choice: Sunset Aloha Pepper Sweetest Strawberry Competition Overall Best: People’s Choice: DelFresco Yes Berries |
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