Photo= Tomatoes in the "Phyto Rich" series have increased nutritional value through cultivar improvement (Takii Plant Breeding and Experiment Station, Hari, Konan City, Shiga Prefecture)

A leading seeds and seedlings company, Takii & Co., Ltd. in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, has improved vegetable cultivars with enhanced nutrition value. They nearly doubled the types of vegetable and launched a dedicated website. Furthermore, some of these vegetables have been adopted by a major food company as its own vegetable brand.

In 2011, Takii & Co., Ltd. marketed seven kinds of vegetables with good-for-health, functional ingredients higher than conventional ones, including big tomatoes, green peppers and others, in the "Phyto Rich" series with the aim of increasing vegetable consumption.

As these vegetables have been well received, the company added red carrots high in lycopene and "Mizuna," or potherb mustard, containing more than ten times the usual amount of anthocyanin, which is said to be helpful in preventing arteriosclerosis, to the series. They have developed 13 types of vegetables at present.

In mid-July, the major food company Dole Japan, Inc. adopted two kinds of cherry tomatoes from the series as raw materials for Dole's brand "Ultra Vege," whose selling point is the functional ingredients in vegetables, and started selling them at supermarkets and department stores all over the country.

The characteristics and efficacy of the products and cooking recipes are introduced on the dedicated website.