about gold kiwifruit
Gold kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) are an excellent source of vitamin C, dietary fibre, folate, and other minerals and antioxidants. They are one of the most nutrient-dense fruits in the world.
The gold kiwifruit has bronze-toned, smooth, hairless skin. Its flavour is sweet and tropical, with notes of pineapple and mango. Gold kiwifruit are less acidic that the original green kiwifruit and have a slightly different nutritional composition.
Nutrient density scores calculated based on the methods of Darmon N, et al. A Nutrient Density Standard for Vegetables and Fruits: Nutrients per Calorie and Nutrients per Unit Cost. J Am Diet Assoc 2005:105:1881-7 https://www.zespri.com/en-NZ/nutrition
Health benefits of gold kiwifruit
Full of nutritional goodness, gold kiwifruit are one of the healthiest fruits around. Kiwifruit have been shown to support digestive health, the immune system, and everyday good health.
Kiwifruit are a great source of vitamin C, with gold kiwifruit providing 3 times that of an orange per 100 g. The benefits of vitamin C include:
• Supporting the immune system to help reduce the duration and severity of colds and flu;
• Reducing tiredness and fatigue;
• Supporting collagen formation, which is essential for healthy skin, teeth and bones.
Gold kiwifruit contain a good level of vitamin E and polyphenols which have been shown to have an antioxidant effect.
Kiwifruit has a low glycemic index. This is largely due to the unique hydration properties of kiwifruit dietary fibre – the fibre swells to nearly 3 times its original size which makes uptake of sugars into the bloodstream steadier.
The kiwifruit dietary fibre (namely hemicellulose, cellulose and pectin) supports digestive health by helping to bulk up stool, improve transit time and act as a prebiotic by getting fermented in the colon by the good bacteria that reside there.
Kiwifruit pectin in particular is a great prebiotic. It has a highly complex structure and is slowly fermented by the good bacteria in the gut, including our good gut buddy, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prau).
Potassium is an important mineral that helps maintain muscle function and supports healthy metabolism, water balance, electrolytic functions, and the nervous system.
As a good source of folate, kiwifruit is ideal for the whole family. Folate is an essential nutrient for cellular growth and development, which is why it is so important during pregnancy and in children.
New Zealand gold kiwifruit have a nutritional advantage
Not only does New Zealand have clean air and water, ample sunshine and rich soil, it also has higher UV levels than other countries at similar latitudes. Ultraviolet intensities in the New Zealand summer are at least 37% higher than similar latitudes in the northern hemisphere.
More UV in the sunlight translates to more polyphenols in the plant’s leaves and fruit. Some polyphenols have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, so a New Zealand-grown gold kiwifruit has higher bioactivity levels than a gold kiwifruit grown elsewhere.
Did you know there are different types (varieties) of gold kiwifruit?!
The first yellow or gold fleshed kiwifruit variety, “Hort16A”, was developed in New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s through a collaborative breeding programme between HortResearch (now the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (Plant & Food Research)) and Zespri International Ltd (Zespri).
It wasn’t until 2000 though that gold kiwifruit, marketed as Zespri™ Gold Kiwifruit, were officially launched internationally.
Zespri™ Gold Kiwifruit were very popular, being less furry and sweeter than the green variety. However, in 2010, a bacterial vine disease, known as Psa, hit kiwifruit growers in NZ devastating the crop.
Thankfully, through the breeding programme, Zespri and PFR had another gold variety in the works that proved to be tolerant to Psa. This variety, “Zesy002” or “Gold3”, is what Anagenix uses to make Livaux.
The difference between green and gold kiwifruit
Apart from the obvious colour difference, there are a couple of other notable differences between green and gold kiwi.
gold kiwifruit more popular than green!
Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s top export crop, making up nearly half of all fruit exports in 2021!1 Not surprisingly, given its sweet, tropical flavour, exports of gold kiwifruit from New Zealand have skyrocketed since the new variety launched in 2010. By 2020, export volumes of gold kiwifruit overtook those of green. This is largely drive by exports to China, Japan and South Korea, where gold kiwifruit is more popular than its green cousin.
What sort of volumes are produced in NZ?
New Zealand is the 2nd largest producer of kiwifruit. Kiwifruit volume is typically measured in trays (1 tray = approx. 3.6 kg of fruit) and in 2021, about 80 million trays of green kiwifruit (290 million kg) and 99 million trays of gold kiwifruit (357 million kg) were harvested in NZ. This was from around 7,500 hectares of green kiwifruit and 7,800 hectares of gold kiwifruit.
Most of this kiwifruit is grown in kiwifruit country – the Bay of Plenty in the North Island – however the fruit is also grown further north around Auckland and the Waikato, but also in the top of the South Island (around Motueka).
New Zealand’s Kiwifruit Breeding Programme
Plant & Food Research operates the world’s largest kiwifruit breeding programme which is jointly funded by New Zealand’s Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Zespri.
The breeding programme has led to the release of the Psa-resistant “Zesy002” variety and more recently to a red-fleshed kiwifruit.
In 2021, a new Kiwifruit Breeding Centre was established by Plant & Food Research and Zespri to deliver new varieties of premium kiwifruit to the world2. The Centre will use cutting-edge technology and natural breeding techniques to develop new varieties that are tasty, nutritious and sustainable.
