G.Koppert Trading b.v. has won the ‘AGF Innovation Award 2001’ with their new radish products Sango Sprouts® and Sakura Cress®. The prize was awarded during AGF Totaal, the global fruit and vegetable trade fair in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The innovation of Sango Sprouts® and Sakura Cress® lies in the health promoting character of these special food products. These radish types have been developed in a breeding programme jointly performed by G Koppert Trading b.v. and Plant Research International b.v., Wageningen, The Netherlands. Koppert Trading stated that this co-operation has led to an outstandingly rapid development of a ready to market innovation.

Sango Sprouts® and Sakura Cress® contain over one hundred times more anthocyanin than regular radish seedlings. Anthocyanin is proposed to have health promoting benefits, especially in relation to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is also considered that they may reduce the risk for some forms of cancer, night-blindness, and the levels of some types of cholesterol. Applications for Intellectual Property protection for the innovation and the plant varieties have been submitted by Koppert Trading.

Plant Research International and Koppert Trading began by using radish types containing only low levels of anthocyanin, which give the seedlings a typical purple colour. These were then used in a state-of-the-art breeding programme to yield the new highly-pigmented forms. Koppert Trading stated that the short time span in which the innovation was achieved, was only possible thanks to their collaboration with Plant Research International.

Sango Sprouts® are used in a similar way to bean sprouts and alfalfa: young, freshly sprouted seedlings are consumed whole. This product has been licensed to top quality bean sprout producers world wide and the product will be directly sold to restaurants. In the near future, it may also be introduced onto the consumer market.

Sakura Cress® is used like Daikoncress: only the shoots from mature seedlings are consumed. Specialised growers, among which Koppert Trading itself, will grow the plants directly for the catering industry.