11/19/07 Apple Fries

Apple Fries. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. A typical fast food meal&burger, soft drink and fries. Right? Burger King is in the process of changing that for the kids. And according to Keva Silversmith, Burger King spokesperson they have also made a pledge to limited advertising to kids under 12 to certain nutritional criteria. And as part of that, instead of deep fried potatoes, they have announced the addition of apple fries to their kids menu. SILVERSMITH: One of the things we are looking at in development is something called apple fries which is fresh cut apples fries that will be served in the fry pod which is our French fry holder but instead will be fresh cut apple fries that go into this holder. The name is a bit confusing since they are not fried at all. SILVERSMITH: This is very important, it's actually a fresh cut apple cut in the shape of a French fry. There's nothing fried about it, it's a fresh apple. Silversmith says the cutting process also has an added benefit. SILVERSMITH: The apples are cut in a sterile environment to prevent any bacteria that can cause browning from getting to the fries and they're also  they undergo a wash in a combination blend of vitamin C and calcium in order to try to maintain the freshness as well. Burger King is still in the initial process of developing the apple fries and does not know at this point how the product will affect the apple market in the future. SILVERSMITH: The apple fries themselves are still in development. We hope to roll them out at the same time as the rest of the kid's meal but we're still finalizing the timing on the apple fries. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.