Tomatoes from German cultivation year-round, even in the winter months, are now available in all Kaufland branches. The grocer offers nationwide panicles, cocktail and snack tomatoes from Saxony-Anhalt's Gemüsering company.
Source: obs/Kaufland/Kaufland/Gemüsering
"Our gardeners and their teams rely on manual labor, for the whole process, to harvest around 3,000 tons of tomatoes each year, and we aim to produce healthy vegetables, protect the environment and use resources sparingly. We decided on this integrated production," explains Dr. Lukas Scholz, manager of the greenhouse in Zorbau. "Electricity and heat come from a neighboring waste-to-energy plant, which generates energy without emissions without burning fossil fuel resources."
Resource-saving cultivation
Sustainability plays an important role in the cultivation: A closed water cycle uses 75 percent rainwater. Mites are fought by wasps and bumblebees pollinate the plants. As the tomatoes are expertly fertilized and pesticides are used sparingly, they develop their full aroma.
The Gemüsering company grows the fruit in Zorbau, Saxony-Anhalt, exclusively for Kaufland. The company built a greenhouse on an area of around 80,000 m2 and employs over seventy people. The tomatoes are harvested, packaged on site and shipped to over 660 Kaufland stores within hours. Customers can recognize these German winter tomatoes by the "Market fresh from Germany" label. Under this label, Kaufland offers up to 140 fruit and vegetable items from German soil.
Sustainable Tomato Project
"We have been working very well together with our partner Gemüsering for many years and have jointly developed this sustainable tomato project, strengthening regional cultivation and offering our customers tomatoes from Germany all year round," says Markus Mutz, purchasing fruit and vegetables at Kaufland.
Tomatoes are by far the most popular German vegetable and account for around a quarter of total vegetable consumption. Every German consumes about 25 kilos of tomatoes on average. Around one-third of this comes from fresh tomatoes and two-thirds from processed products such as tomato paste and ketchup. Tomatoes consist of 94 percent water and provide only 17 kcal per 100 grams. They also contain vitamin C, potassium and fibers. In addition to this, they contain phytochemicals that help to reduce the risk of certain cancers that protect against cardiovascular disease and strengthen the immune system. (Source: Federal Center for Nutrition)
For more information: www.gemuesering-thueringen.de