<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> Orlando, FL</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Eric Anderson<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">3.20.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The National Mango Board has announced that it will host a free Mango Temperature Management and Ripening Program Webinar on Thursday, Apr. 4, 2013 at 4 p.m. Eastern time in conjunction with University of California, Davis (Department of Plant Science) and the University of Florida (IFAS Center for Food Distribution and Retailing), according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/NMB032013.jpg" alt="Cropped Images 03192013" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The Board’s NMB’s Ripe Ready to Eat Mango program will share initial findings via the free webinar. Tommy Atkins, Kent, Ataulfo, Keitt, Haden and Francis mango cultivars from the top 6 producing countries will be subject to a complete descriptive analysis. To help determine minimum quality standards consumers will accept, a minimum quality index will be developed. Testing of fruit temperatures throughout the distribution process is aimed to consistently deliver fruit of high quality and increase mango consumption.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“Appropriate temperature management is an important component to improve consumers’ mango eating experience and knowing the opportunities of improvement is beneficial to the industry. Consumers continue to tell us they do not know when a mango is ripe,” said NMB Executive Director William Watson. “Our mango ripening pilot program is designed to provide tools for the industry to consider if they want to develop their own ripening system. We have seen considerable growth of many other commodities that have been packed and shipped through a ripening program. There is still much more research to do but feel we are on the right path.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Who should attend?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">• Mango importers, wholesalers and brokers<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">• Retail distribution center and quality assurance experts<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">• Buyers, category managers and merchandisers</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.mango.org/" target="_new">Mango Seminar </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
