Rutgers University is honing in on “amazing” agricultural technology in Israel with an agreement on the advancement of healthy food products created between Tel Hai College, a college located in Northern Israel, according to The Times of Israel… The New Jersey and Israel Healthy, Functional, and Medical Foods Alliance was formed and focuses on scientific research, technology commercialization, business incubation and education in order to make healthier foods, according to rutgers.edu&… “Israel and New Jersey have a common interest, to produce healthier foods and research how the food industry is evolving,” said Lou Cooperhouse, director of Rutgers Food Innovation Center and President of New Jersey Business Incubation Network… Forming the alliance with Israel has the highest potential for success because of Israel’s strong interest and advancement in agricultural technology, Klein said.

For years, many New Jersey farmers have been growing strawberry plants bred for conditions in California. The plants produced fruit that could withstand being shipped across the country but were not well suited for cold Northeast winters. Another drawback was their taste… “In developing something that will ship well, sometimes you have a little loss of flavor,” said Bill Hlubik, professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension… The new strawberry is the latest in a long list of plant varieties including tomatoes, asparagus and squash that the NJAES has developed to draw more customers to local markets and pick-your-own farms. The experiment station works closely with New Jersey farmers to develop plants as part of its mission to share Rutgers’ research with the public.