Paradise apples (“Paradeiser”) in Austria, love or golden apple in Italy or simply tomato: The delicious vegetable (botanically a berry, by the way!) celebrates its name day today. Just in time for Tomato Day on August 8th, there is good news from the fields. The harvest in northern Italy has just got off to a good start with a slight delay. Quality and quantity should be top, experts tell us, even though hail damage (PMM reported) was recently recorded on about 1000 ha of cultivated area. Estimates are for losses of between 50 and 70,000 tonnes. The current crop yield is not yet suitable for diced tomatoes, it goes into the production of pulp and tomato paste. However, from this week, August 9th, the harvest will start “full steam ahead”. In the south of Italy it is already running at full speed, and here too the harvest promises great yields and the best quality, we learn. As tomato professionals, we are particularly pleased about this, because we want to supply our PMM customers in empty markets with the best produce again. Tomato fans all over the world love this powerful “berry” above all because the tomato has so many ingredients that have a positive effect on the body when ripe. In addition to large amounts of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fibre, they contain many secondary plant compounds that have antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. It is not without reason that the all-rounder tomato is also finding its way into cosmetic care products. We have compiled even more tomato knowledge about their great properties, contents and effects in our glossary. It’s worth a click!