Pineapple is one of the very few fruits which improves its taste when thermally processed. Pineapple chunks, slices, tit bits and juice are the common products made by the canning industry. As the growing centers and consumption markets were separated by long distances, canning technology came handy for linking the two. How ever the fortunes of canning technology took a nose dive after the advent of aseptic bulk packing technology and to day it is a pale shadow of what it was during the better part of last century. As for fresh fruit, most consumers prefer to consume more exotic fruits like apple, plum, peach, strawberry, kiwi, mango etc rather than pineapple. However, established pineapple canning companies continue to operate mostly from Asian countries to cater to the demand that still exists to day.
"According to Food Market Exchange (www.foodmarketexchange.com), the list of "World Major Producers" of pineapple includes Dole Thailand Ltd., Del Monte Philippines Inc., Del Monte Kenya Ltd. and DOLEFIL, among dozens of major pineapple canning operations in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and across the tropical belt from Southeast Asia to Africa to Central and South America. The Food and Agricultural Organization (www.fao.org) reports the world's largest pineapple producers are Thailand (1.7 million metric tons in 2003), the Philippines (1.65 million m/t), Brazil (1.4 million m/t), China (1.32 million m/t) and India (1.1 million m/t)".
A shift away from canning may be needed to boost the fortunes of this tropical fruit. Rather than promoting pineapple singly, a more attractive option can be using the strong and stable flavor of the fruit to evolve new combination products with other fruits. Tetra pack juices have a high visibility to day and pineapple juice and beverages are also available in some markets. When pulp is to be supplied to the formulators, canned version is no more convenient and aseptic bulk filling using bag and box system has already established itself as a better option for many processors.
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