The "P'tite nectarine" returned to French McDonald's restaurant at the beginning of July. 1.4 million bags of nectarines, 100% from ecologically responsible orchards, should be sold in the chain's 1,560 restaurants by the end of August. This 5-year partnership between Peaches and Apricots of France, McDonald's France and Florette Food Service has taken almost 10 years to prepare, and represents an "economic and social boost" for the 50 producers under contract in the Roussillon, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône regions of France.
A seasonal fruit grown and prepared locally in the south of France
The nectarine wedge produced by Florette Food Service is once again available in McDonald's restaurants from the beginning of July to the end of August, "coinciding with its optimal period of consumption."
Sourced exclusively from 50 eco-responsible orchards in the Roussillon, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône regions, 200 tons of fruit have been contracted out to Florette Food Service's partner producers.
According to Estelle Alarcon, operations director of the La Melba cooperative, "the collaboration between McDonald's France, Florette France and French nectarine production is a great way of highlighting the work of our producers and their investment in quality initiatives such as the Eco-responsible Orchards."
The fruit is inspected upon reception at the Florette Food Service site in Torreilles, Pyrénées-Orientales. If the specifications agreed with McDonald's France are met, the nectarines are then washed, cut up and bagged, without preservatives, in Florette Food Service's fruit workshop.
100% eco-responsible nectarines
The result of a long-standing partnership with Peaches and Apricots of France, the "P'tite nectarine" offered by McDonald's France and Florette Food Service comes 100% from eco-responsible orchards. The orchards selected to supply Florette Food Service have therefore adopted the following practices (among others): controlled, water-saving irrigation (drip, micro-jet, micro-sprinkler, etc.), use of biocontrol products, implementation of mating disruption to combat the oriental fruit moth on all the plots, presence in and around the orchard of the following agro-ecological infrastructures: nesting boxes and/or shelters and/or flower strips sown to preserve biodiversity. Finally, with the aim of increasing organic matter and therefore carbon storage, pruning wood is crushed and left on the ground.
Selected orchards certified Global Gap
"Peaches and Apricots of France is proud of its partnership with Florette and McDonald's France. For almost 5 years, the menus have featured nectarines from our orchards, in the interests of children's health and enjoyment. Catalan producers and the whole of our organisation are benefiting both economically and socially," explains Raphaël Martinez, director of Peaches and Apricots of France.
The "P'tite nectarine", part of the McDonald's chewy fruit saga, was offered in the Happy Meal for the first time in 2016. A fresh, low-sugar and refreshing fruit, cut into quarters to make it easier for children to eat.
Over the past 21 years, 12 different fruits have been offered on the Happy Meal™ menu. A success with the brand's consumers, and particularly with the youngest, since just over half of the fruit eaten in the commercial catering market by children under 15 was eaten at McDonald's (source: CREST McDonald's France consumer panel).