In 2002, the New York Apple Association took a major bite out of a ripe, juicy apple opportunity when it hired registered dietitian Linda Quinn to be the association’s spokeswoman in order to promote the health benefits of New York apples. She is passionate, proactive and professes to be a major apple believer for all the right reasons.

Linda J. Quinn, M.S., R.D., spokeswoman for the New York Apple Association.“When you look at apples compared to any other fruit you will learn that they’ve got it all — taste, likeability and crunch,” Quinn told The Produce News. “But, when you actually look at the scientific research on apples, you realize there is more to apples than just good looks. Apples are literally the new Super Fruit. Customers may be wowed by fruit grown halfway across the world, but when it comes to solid scientific evidence, apples are the leader.”

Quinn refers to the scientific paper “A Comprehensive Review of Apples and Apple components and the Relationship to Human Health,” published in the peer review journal Advances in Nutrition in Sept. 2011. Researchers reviewed the entire body of evidence (100 studies) on apples and found that, “Eating apples have a beneficial effect on the risk, markers and etiology of cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma and Alzheimer’s Disease. Recent studies suggest that apples may also be associated with improved outcomes related to cognitive decline of normal aging, diabetes, weight management, bone health, pulmonary function and gastrointestional protection.”

“We encourage retailers and foodservice operators to steer people to the NYAA website to learn more about the nutritional value of apples, but we know even more than what they’ll find there. Studies have shown that eating apples can actually offset the bad eating habits that kids can have, such as eating a candy bar,” said Quinn. “People sometimes say they just can’t eat any more, but it is so important to make room in your diet for an apple every day.”

A study by Cornell University in 2013, revealed that people are more inclined to buy and eat apples if they are sliced. The report quotes Brian Wansink, lead author of the study and co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (Ben Center). “Children dislike eating fruit because of braces or missing teeth, or because eating a large fruit is too inconvenient,” he said. “Older girls report that it is too unattractive-looking to eat whole fruit in front of others.”

Quinn agrees, but says this information applies to adults as well. Some people, especially elderly people with dental issues, don’t like to crunch down on anything with their front teeth. Then there’s the chore involved with getting the knife and plate, slicing the apple, removing the core, washing the plate and utensils, etc. Compare that to picking up a neat little clamshell of already sliced apples in your produce department and munching your way to wherever you’re off to.

“And we have the technology available to us today to offer sliced apples in just about every venue,” Quinn added. “My job is mostly about working with the media. I appear on local television shows, for example, and I always bring a bag of apples with me to give to the crew. They get so excited and start telling me stories about when they were kids and their folks took them to apple orchards to pick apples.

“That opportunity still exists, and there’s no better time than the present for families to visit an apple orchard,” she continued. “In that visit there is locally grown, sustainability, outstanding nutritional benefits and wholesome fun. That’s a plate full of great things out of one visit. For those who aren’t near an orchard, you can have a very similar result from a visit to the apple department in your local grocery store.”