KIDS!! Follow the rainbow to good health and see what nutrients are contained in various colours of common fruit and vegetables - here.

Around the World

Common names for Carrot from most countries around the world (pdf)

China is Carrot production King of the World , the US ranks among the other top nations in the production of carrots: fourth in acreage and volume, third in terms of yield (31.7 tons/ha). Russia, Japan, France and the United Kingdom are also leading producers. World wide 13.37 million tons were produced in 1990, a 30% increase over the past decade.
Carrot consumption in the US increased sharply in the 1990s, from about 10 pounds a person per year to 14 pounds. Kern county, California dominates US carrot production, and two firms control 90 percent of California fresh carrots--most growers produce carrots under contract for these firms.

Texas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are also large producers. Quite a few also emanate from Holtville, California which dubs itself "The Carrot Capital of the World."   Learn about the Annual Carrot Festival (and others) by clicking here.

Carrots are ninth (out of twenty eight) among vegetable crops in the US. Average value of commercial crop is about $70,500,000 per year based on fresh-market and processed carrots, accounting for about 875,000 tons of carrots. (1979 figures)

The largest carrot producer in the world is Grimmway Carrots in California.

World production of carrots in the mid-1990s exceeded 14 million metric tons annually.

In Europe the UK has the highest production with 750,000 tons per year. Next come France (568k), Netherlands (476k) and Italy (407k) others large producers include Poland and Germany.

Poland has an important place in European production of vegetables. In production of cabbage and carrot they have first place in Europe and as much as 20% of the total vegetable production of Europe consists of cabbage and about 18% of carrots produced in Poland. Comparing to the total world production of vegetables the share of polish cabbage amounts about 5% and that of carrots slightly above 5%. Read more here.

Australia - Carrots are also grown on a large scale in Australia.  In 1999, 267,000 tonnes of carrots were produced from about 7,500 hectares. Click here to see the Australia page. There is also an Australian Carrot, which is native.
Another good Australian website - The wonderful world of Carrots. Also Western Oz statistics
See also the Florida Carrot website Find out more here.
Read about Texas carrots here .
Tasmania also has a healthy organic carrot industry, its website is here.

New Zealand here.

Saskatchewan here.

India - More about carrot production in India here.    Traditional Medicinal Uses for Carrot and its seeds around the world (pdf).

John's visits to carrot producers/packers:

Potts Master Bakers - John had the privilege of having a personal guided tour of the leading baker of organic carrot cake, supplied to major supermarkets in the UK.  It is, naturally, based in Yorkshire!  Not only does it supply the trade, but also larger shops, restaurants and hotels.  Quite an operation!

Huntapac - John also took a personal guided tour of Huntapac one of the leading carrot packers in England and suppliers to the major supermarkets in the UK.

Metcalfe Organic supplies a wide ranging market including the NHS 5 a Day Scheme, Morrison's supermarkets, local boxed vegetable schemes, whole foods stores and food processing plants around the region.

Poskitts, one of the leading supermarket suppliers.

Cooks carrots in Lancashire supply many wholesale market, processing plants and local shops with their top quality produce - .

Another well respected carrot grower in Britain is P Caunce & Son at Brow Farm. at Brow Farm (yet to be visited!).

Events

The Carrot Museum Road Show has had exhibitions at the Royal Horticultural Society, Harlow Carr Gardens for the past two years. Visit the dedicated pages here.

Talks to schools, local societies and institutions are given on a regular basis, please e-mail the Museum if you would like a show or talk about carrots.

The Future - A Rainbow Carrot?

How do you get people to eat more carrots? You excite their senses. Surprise them, say, with unexpected colour and explosive flavour. It’s a worthwhile tack to take, says Philipp Simon, plant geneticist at the Vegetable Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wisconsin. He should know. Simon, who heads the ARS laboratory on the University of Wisconsin campus, helped elevate the humble carrot to its current prestigious position. Thanks to work he did with colleagues more than 25 years ago, the carrot is now an even better source of dietary vitamin A.

Using classical breeding methods, they helped boost the veggie’s already abundant stores of beta-carotene by 75 percent. Beta-carotene is what our bodies use to make all-important vitamin A, which is crucial for good eye health and a strong immune system. It’s also responsible for the carrot’s orange hue.

Simon would like to sneak in other nutrients too. That’s why, several years ago, he got to wondering: Why settle for just orange? After all, 700 years ago Western Europeans were feasting on carrots that ranged in colour from lemon-yellow to burgundy to purple. We can have the same variety today—and the healthful antioxidants associated with those brightly coloured pigments.

In addition to breeding yellow, red, deep-orange, purple, and even white carrots, Simon aims to create a “rainbow” carrot - a multi-pigmented root that naturally contains several antioxidants, such as lycopene, lutein, and anthocyanin.

Fuel for Cars?

Scientists now believe that bio fuels will be the answer to our energy needs when the oil runs out. One such fuel, perhaps within 10 years, will be carrots - it would take approximately 6000 carrots to drive one mile.

Hopefully, there will be inexpensive retrofits for older cars to convert to alternative fuels. It could cause a whole new problem if used cars started filling up junk yards because everyone decided to buy carrot fuelled cars. It would be much better to make car donations so someone in need could use it.

News

Scientists unveil New 'super carrot' (from the BBC, Spring 2008)

The new carrot could ward off osteoporosis Scientists in the US say they have created a genetically-engineered carrot that provides extra calcium. They hope that adding the vegetable to a normal diet could help ward off conditions such as brittle bone disease and osteoporosis. Someone eating the new carrot absorbs 41% more calcium than if they ate the old, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study suggests.

The calcium-charged vegetable still needs to go through many safety trials. "These carrots were grown in carefully monitored and controlled environments," said Professor Kendal Hirschi, part of the team at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Much more research needs to be conducted before this would be available to consumers Professor Kendal Hirschi Baylor College of Medicine "Much more research needs to be conducted before this would be available to consumers." But the scientists nonetheless hope their carrot could ultimately offer a healthier way of consuming sufficient quantities of the mineral.

Dairy foods are the primary dietary source of calcium but some are allergic to these while others are told to avoid consuming too much due to their high fat content. A gene has been altered in the carrot which allows the calcium within it to cross more easily over the plant membranes. On its own, the carrot would not meet the daily requirement of 1,000mg of calcium, but if other vegetables were similarly engineered, intake could be increased dramatically.

It is not the first time the carrot has been tampered with. The orange colour we know is the result of Dutch cultivation in the 17th Century, when patriotic growers turned a vegetable which was then purple into the colour of the national flag. Nor is it the first vegetable to receive a healthy make-over. Genetic engineering is being used to develop potatoes with more starch and less water so that they absorb less oil when fried, producing healthier chips or crisps. Work is also being carried out on broccoli so that it contains more sulforaphane, a chemical which may help people ward off cancer.

Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait of the University of East Anglia said genetically engineering foods to increase their nutrient content was becoming an increasingly important avenue. "People are being told to eat more modestly to prevent weight gain, and many diets now no longer contain everything we need. "There has been great resistance to genetic engineering, but gradually we are moving away from the spectre of 'Frankenstein food' and starting to appreciate the health benefits it may bring."  Great news!

Also!!

Researchers have created a new genetically engineered carrot that has 41 percent more calcium than the regular carrot, reports a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Altering a gene boosts levels of transporter proteins, which pump calcium from the soil into the plant. This kind of technology could help combat conditions like osteoporosis. The carrots may become available within three to five years (from 2008) .  Read more here

Standard Carrots - “This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot,”

European Union bureaucrats are to usher in a new age of acceptance when it comes to knobbly fruit and vegetables, scrapping the rules dictating that only "standard" size carrots can be sold in shops.

Misshapen and blemished fruit and vegetables are likely to find their way back on to supermarket shelves – although they may be labelled "for cooking" under reforms being proposed by the EU's Danish Agriculture and Rural Development commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel.

" We want to have two classes, allowing supermarkets to sell funny shaped vegetables," said Michael Mann, a spokesman for the European Commission.

Ms Fischer Boel wants to abandon the eccentric rules that brought scorn on the EU and led to criticism that perfectly formed harvests had been achieved at the expense of taste.  The rules specify the diameter of carrots that can be sold as class one, unless they are officially regarded as baby carrots.  The Commission will now formally adopt the changes which, for practical reasons, will be implemented from 1 July 2009.

This rule will be scrapped:

"Carrots - Carrots less than 1.9cm in diameter at the thick end could not be sold as class one, unless marketed as "baby" varieties."

The cream-coloured carrot is making a comeback

As your browse the vegetable racks in your local store, you could easily mistake them for parsnips. But after four centuries of orange varieties, a cream carrot is to appear in British shops. The new-look version is said to be crisp and crunchy in texture and sweeter in taste than its orange cousin.

A bunch of Creme de Lite, cream-coloured carrots, which will be stocked by Marks & Spencer shops from next week. Marks & Spencer is to stock the carrots, which are organically produced in Scotland. Carrots were originally white, cream and purple, and only became orange coloured through cross-breeding 400 years ago, the store's vegetable expert said.

The orange variety was developed by Dutch growers aiming to produce a less bitter version and was adopted by the royal family in the Netherlands, where orange is the national colour.

However, the new Creme de Lite variety is said to have been specially produced to lack any of the bitterness of the original. It is grown by farmer Steven Jack in the Moray Firth. It can be cooked or eaten raw, just like the orange version of the vegetable.

Marks & Spencer agronomist Dr Simon Coupe said: 'This speciality organic cream carrot is already prized in Europe and America for its crisp and crunchy texture, and is especially good in salads or cooked the same way you would a classic orange carrot.' Previous attempts to revitalise the huge carrot market have been unsuccessful. Sales of purple carrots dropped shortly after they were introduced when customers discovered the colour seeped out of the vegetable and into the cooking water.

Researchers tap into carrots for colour and health - read more

Purple carrots are now propositioned as the next superfood.

The findings of the recent Australian study revealed the ancient carrot to be packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory goodness - up tp 28 times more anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that are responsible for the purple-red pigment in raspberries and blueberries, than there are in orange carrots. 

Lindsay Brown, professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Southern Queensland who is also the study author said the purple carrots are the original carrots from the ancient Persia. Purple carrots are one of the wide variety of fruit and vegetables that are almost lost in the era of single supermarket varieties, just like other ancient tomato varieties.

While claims have previously been made about its health benefits, there were no tests to back up them, not until just recently. Conducting rat studies using purple carrots grown in Queensland, the rats were given high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for 16 weeks to mirror the effects of unhealthy Western diet.

The rats soon developed high blood pressure, became fatter and glucose-intolerant - or prediabetic - and suffered heart and liver damage. Subsequently, in the second eight weeks, purple carrot juice were added into the rats' diet.

The results were a surprise to the scientists, and will be published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Prof Brown said miraculously everything went back to normal. "The blood pressure went down, the collagen in the heart was back to normal, the liver histology was back to normal, the liver enzymes, the glucose tolerance, the fat pads were all back to normal, despite continuing this ... terrible diet," she explained.

Purple carrots should be eaten coupled with a moderate diet and exercise, advised Prof Brown.

A Carrot Racing Car  read more here

$25m campaign to Get Kids to Eat Carrots by branding them like junk food - According to USA Today, a group of producers will unveil a sophisticated media campaign designed to drive a wedge between the munching public and our snack foods, a wedge in the shape of a carrot. This campaign will include repackaging carrots for school vending machines in bags that resemble Doritos (both orange, little-finger size, crunchy, so consumers probably won't even notice the difference, right?)

See full article here.   Baby Carrot Com - The flash website is here.

Carrots boost brain health

A plant compound found in carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile helps reduce age-related inflammation in the brain and memory deficits, according to a new study conducted in mice.

The compound luteolin reduces age-related inflammation in the brain and related memory deficits by directly inhibiting the release of inflammatory molecules in the brain, researchers report. Read full report here

---

Food Waste - In industrialised countries, reducing food waste will require raising public awareness and changing consumer attitudes. On Carrot farms, photographic sensors scan all harvested carrots and reject those that are crooked, dull, blemished, too thin or too fat. As a result, 25 to 30 percent of carrots end up as animal feed even though they pose no health risk to humans. Many other fruit and vegetables are also set aside because supermarket managers believe consumers will not buy them for aesthetic reasons.

In the US a typical carrot has to travel 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table! (Source: Pirog, Rich, and Andrew Benjamin. "Checking the Food Odometer: Comparing Food Miles for Local Versus Conventional Produce Sales in Iowa Institutions." Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, July 2003. Here

---

Organic Food may be no better 

Organically grown onions, carrots, and potatoes generally do not have higher levels of healthful antioxidants and related substances than vegetables grown with traditional fertilizers and pesticides, scientists have reported. In the study, Pia Knuthsen and colleagues point out that there are many reasons to pay a premium for organic food products. The most important reasons for the popularity of organic food products include improved animal welfare, environmental protection, better taste, and possible health benefits. However, the health benefits of organic food consumption are still controversial and not considered scientifically well documented.

 The scientists describe experiments in which they analyzed antioxidants termed 'polyphenols' from onions, carrots and potatoes grown using conventional and organic methods. They found no differences in polyphenol content for organic vs. traditional methods of growth.

"On the basis of the present study carried out under well controlled conditions, it cannot be concluded that organically grown onions, carrots, and potatoes generally have higher contents of health-promoting secondary metabolites in comparison with the conventionally cultivated ones," the report stated.

 Their study has been published in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

---

The first "Protected Geographical Indication for a carrot declared by the European union. The equivalent of an appellation - only allowed to called so if grown in specified areas of Italy.

‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ PGI (protected geographical indication) is the product obtained by growing species Daucus carota L. (the cultivated carrot). The varieties used are based on the Nantes half-long carrot variety and appropriate hybrids such as Exelso, Dordogne, Nancò, Concerto, Romance, Naval, Chambor, Selene. Other hybrids may be used provided that they belong to the Nantes half-long variety and provided that the producers have proven through tests that they comply with the quality parameters for ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’. The use of new hybrids to produce ‘Carota Novella di Ispica’ is permitted subject to favourable evaluation of the tests by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies which may request for that purpose the technical opinion of the inspection body or another body.

Ispica is a town in Sicily not far from Ragusa.  Read more

---

Eskimo Carrot  F1 the first “green carrot” - Help with Climate Change and Carbon Footprint

A new carrot, Eskimo F1,  has been developed to have a very high degree of tolerance to cold, which means the variety can be grown for an extended period into the UK winter without the usual need for polythene and straw to protect the crop against frost. Straw and polythene are the norm in the UK for field storage so by eliminating their use, all the carbon emissions associated with this practice are effectively removed, making the carrot ‘greener’ to grow. Its unique feature of frost tolerance has been the main driving force behind the varieties success and this has developed a blue print for growers to achieve excellent quality, yield and pack out results from open field situations late into the winter.

The main advantage is that growers do not need to protect the Eskimo with costly straw and polythene due to its cold tolerance. This also reduces cost and for organic produces the carbon input of laying on the straw and polythene, taking it off and of course the carbon involved in producing the polythene in the first place.

Nickerson-Zwaan, the company which has developed the seeds, believe that the level of reduction in carbon emissions associated with open field Eskimo could be significant.  By extending the open field season using Eskimo F1, a large proportion of the extra carbon produced by straw and polythene can be avoided, reducing the overall carbon by usage by 56%.

The main features of Eskimo F1 are:

	Late maincrop maturity for harvest from late September to early February
	Strong roots with good resistance to splitting and breakage
	Improved resistance to cavity spot and sclerotinia
	High percentage marketable yield producing lower waste
	Demonstrates enhanced drought tolerance in Dry seasons
	Healthy erect foliage facilitating late top lifting and reducing mechanical damage.
	Consumer feedback suggests excellent flavour and texture characteristics

---

Increased antioxidant capacity of Carrots - Studies suggest that a moderate, 14-second dose of UV-B can boost fresh, sliced carrots’ antioxidant capacity by about threefold.

Exposing sliced carrots to UV-B, one of the three kinds of ultraviolet light in sunshine, can boost the antioxidant activity of the colourful, crunchy veggie. That’s according to preliminary studies by Tara H. McHugh, a food technologist and research leader at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, and her team.

Found mainly in fruits and vegetables, antioxidants are natural compounds that may reduce risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The carrot investigation, conducted by McHugh, postdoctoral associate Wen-Xian Du, and others, suggests that a moderate, 14-second dose of UV-B can boost fresh, sliced carrots’ antioxidant capacity by about threefold. The dose is energy-efficient and does not significantly heat or dry the carrots. Read more here.

Chantenay carrots snack pack launch 11 April 2011

Freshgro, the growers’ co-operative that pioneered bringing back Chantenay carrots to the UK has today launched the nation’s first Chantenay Carrot Snack Pack. The packs are set to be a hit with consumers who are looking for a quick but healthy snack, particularly while on the move and taps into the trend towards healthier eating.

For the first time, sliced carrots have been able to retain their distinctive shape thanks to cutting edge technology. As well as retaining their Chantenay appearance, the technology enables the carrots to retain their flavour, freshness and crunchy texture.

The packs are available in single, round 80g pots plus a multi-pack design of 4 x 65g snap packs which are easy to separate. Kids will love the snack pots which are perfect for little hands and lunchboxes. There are two striking pack designs, one aimed at adults which has a black and orange theme and one for children, with a fun and colourful design incorporating ‘Tiny C’ the lovable Chantenay cartoon character ensuring good on-shelf presence and stand out. Read more here.

---

USDA Replaces MyPyramid with Healthy MyPlate Icon The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a replacement for its current MyPyramid campaign in support of dietary recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. The new healthy plate icon is sectioned off to show fruits and vegetables as half of the plate making the recommendation easy to understand. The new healthy MyPlate icon developed by the USDA supports this concept … fill half your plate with colourful fruits and vegetables at every meal!

Grains & Protein. Grains and protein each represent less than one quarter of the plate. While the protein group was once known as the meat group, over time it has transitioned to incorporate other protein-rich foods such as fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.

Dairy. The dairy group has been moved to a circle next to the plate and defined as fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt.

Fruits & Vegetables. The biggest star of the MyPlate debut is fruits and vegetables, winning half the available real estate on the plate.

The plate stresses the key concept of filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables (that doesn’t mean potato chips!). Overall, the new plate image encourages a more plant-based diet.

And the best part … the plate icon is an easy enough tool for children to use too! Children and parents can learn to eat healthfully while sitting around their dinner plates.

Creating a healthy eating plan doesn’t have to be complicated! Instead of worrying about the minor details, focus on these key guidelines:

Balancing Calories

● Enjoy your food, but eat less. ● Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase

● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. ● Make at least half your grains whole grains. ● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce

● Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers. ● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Visit MyPlate to create a balanced eating plan specific to you, and take the Pledge to eat MORE fruits and vegetables!

Remember that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans stresses the move to a more plant-based diet, specifically instructing Americans to fill half their plates with fruits and vegetables.  Myplate website here.

---

Exposing sliced carrots to UV-B, one of the three kinds of ultraviolet light in sunshine, can boost the antioxidant activity of the colourful, crunchy veggie. See USDA research here.

Found mainly in fruits and vegetables, antioxidants are natural compounds that may reduce risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The carrot investigation suggests that a moderate, 14-second dose of UV-B can boost fresh, sliced carrots’ antioxidant capacity by about threefold. The dose is energy-efficient and does not significantly heat or dry the carrots. Scientists have known for at least a decade that exposing plants to UV-B may cause what’s known as “abiotic stress.”

Plants respond to abiotic stress by revving up their production of two natural enzymes, polyphenylalanine ammonia-lyase and chalcone synthase. As production of those enzymes increases, levels of phenolics, compounds synthesized by the enzymes, also increase. Some phenolics are antioxidants.

---

Starbucks to Offer New Juice Brand Tall carrot juice, please, and a venti cranberry. The king of coffee has acquired Evolution Fresh Inc. in a move to offer a new brand of juice products at Starbucks chains. The acquisition is part of a broad strategy to focus on wellness. The company plans to “reinvent” the $1.6 billion juice segment in response to consumer demand for healthier options. “The acquisition of Evolution Fresh supports our growth strategy to innovate with new products, enter new categories, and expand into new channels of distribution,” said Jeff Hansberry, president of channel development for Starbucks.

Read it at LA Times November 10, 2011 4:41 PM

---

Ukraine becomes the biggest producer of carrots in Europe - According to Fruit-Inform, in 2011, Ukraine became the biggest producer of carrots in Europe, having for the first time ever outstripped Poland, a traditional leader in carrot production, notwithstanding an increase of harvested volumes in this country. Moreover, Ukrainian farmers harvested more carrots than producers from Great Britain, the second biggest producer in Europe. In such a way, only 4 countries of the world - China, USA, Russia and Uzbekistan - produce more carrots than Ukraine. Read more

---