On the afternoon of April 16, the 4th Anting Town Huangdu Tomato Cultural Festival and the 2024 Jiading District Tomato Tasting and Evaluation Activity was held in the Huangdu Branch of the Anting Town Community Cultural Activity Center. The event was co-sponsored by the Agriculture and Rural Committee of Jiading District, Shanghai and the People's Government of Anting Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, and attended by leaders from the Shanghai Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee, the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Agriculture and Rural Committee of Jiading District, and Tongji University, as well as leaders from Jiading District and Anting Town.
It is reported that as early as the end of the 60s of the last century, the Huangdu area of Jiading Anting began to plant tomatoes, because of the high terrain and good soil quality, the tomatoes produced by it are large, full, thin-skinned, colorful, sweet and glutinous, juicy, welcomed by the market, and Huangdu tomatoes are also famous in Shanghai. Today, in the process of inheriting Huangdu tomatoes, agricultural researchers have planted more varieties of tomatoes with bright colors and diverse flavors.
Song of Youth, Zi Xiaoke, Huangzhu, Baifei, Pufen 500...... In the tasting area, 40 participating varieties and 11 new varieties are lined up, and the red, yellow, green, purple, white and other colors are like a tomato rainbow, which is dizzying. The tomato evaluation was divided into three groups according to the large, medium and small fruit types, and the tasters comprehensively considered and voted on the tomatoes' appearance, sugar content, color and taste. "I can't imagine that there are so many varieties of tomatoes, and the taste and texture of each one are different, some are sweet and sour, some are sandy, and the taste is better than some fruits. Ms. Wu, a citizen of Anting, said in surprise. In the end, Taoxing won the gold medal in the large fruit category, Chunxiang No. 1 won the gold medal in the medium fruit category, Huang Guan 16, Huang Girl, and Qingxia 66 won the gold medal in the small fruit category, and Chunxiang No. 1 and Qingxia 66 won the most popular award in the public category.
"Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit?" and "What family does a tomato belong to?" The on-site tomato knowledge contest and lucky box lottery attracted many children to participate. In addition, there is a good "persimmon" fun market integrating cultural and creative, agricultural products and food, as well as activities such as on-site production and tasting of tomato delicacies and tomato-themed group photos, so that the public can get more sense of participation and experience while tasting tomatoes.
It is worth mentioning that in order to further enhance the brand influence and affinity, the event released the Huangdu tomato cartoon IP image, hoping that it can become a new business card of Anting Town's agricultural industry and attract more people's attention and love. At the same time, Anting Town also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the two sides will jointly explore the innovation and variety improvement of Huangdu tomato planting technology, so as to provide strong scientific and technological support for the sustainable development of the industry.
At present, Anting Town is registering Huangdu tomato trademarks and defensive trademarks, and actively applying for geographical indication trademarks to consolidate brand status, enhance market competitiveness, and fully demonstrate the regional characteristics and cultural connotation of Huangdu tomatoes.