King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain visited a fruit and vegetable cooperative in Murcia and the Murcian Institute for Biosanitary Research to observe important scientific projects against COVID-19 during a visit to Cieza and Murcia.
The day began at Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative “La Carrichosa” where upon arrival, the Royal couple was received by the authorities and members of the Governing Council of the Cooperative.
The couple attended an introductory meeting at the ‘La Carrichosa’ fruit and vegetable farm and heard about the production and supply chain.
Felipe and Letizia toured the farm and the cooperative’s processing plant, specifically in the grape-handling lines, before heading to the field to the areas for collecting pears, peaches and grapes.
This “La Carrichosa” cooperative was founded, in 2003 thanks to the dedication of two companies with a long family tradition: Puntal Agraria SA and Agrícola Pony SL united, to offer a comprehensive and personalized service, direct from the field to the consumer, which includes cultivation, handling, packaging and commercialization.
Currently, in association with SAT Los Melgos, Soto de la Zarzuela SA and Olivaricas XXI SL, production has been expanded, with 800 hectares of cultivation, which is exported to three continents after nine months of production. For this, Frutas La Carrichosa continually invests in improving its facilities and machinery in order to increase its efficiency, productivity and product quality.
In 2017, a modern climate control system was installed in the warehouse, which manages to maintain a constant temperature of 21 degrees throughout the area, allowing workers to handle the fruit in a cool environment and breaking the cold chain as little as possible. It is also applied to cold storage capacity with new systems to improve preservation before and after its preparation.
The cooperative is attached to the EU’s integrated agriculture plan, respecting the environment as much as possible, using non-invasive methods towards nature and focused on reducing waste to zero. A commitment in which it works to optimize natural environments with less demanding varieties of water and autoimmune to reduce globally the use of pesticides and contaminants.
A video of Felipe and Letizia touring the farm.
After visiting the La Carrichosa estate, King and Queen went to the Health Campus located in the Murcian capital, where the Murcian Institute for Biosanitary Research (IMIB) is based.
This institute is the result of the union of researchers in the bio sanitary field who mainly belong to the Murcian Health Service (SMS) and the University of Murcia (UMU). The institute is framed in a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Employment, Research and Universities, the SMS and the UMU. Since 2015 the IMIB has been accredited as the Institute of Health Research (IIS), a recognition granted by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) to the centres of research excellence of the National Health System (SNS). Recently the IMIB has managed to renew its inclusion in the elite of the bio sanitary research centres of Spain for another five years.
The most important clinical nucleus of the institute, where the greatest clinical and investigative activity is carried out, is the Virgen de la Arrixaca University Clinical Hospital (HCUVA), a leading hospital in the Region of Murcia.
Since its creation and over the last few years, the IMIB has established itself as a bio sanitary research centre of excellence and integrating new researchers and groups into its structure, notably increasing its activity and scientific production. The institute has numerous collaborations with national and international centres and universities, favouring the mobility of researchers and the development of collaborative projects and research networks.
Currently, it has more than 950 researchers, 51 group leaders, 108 main researchers and 90 responsible for clinical trials, organized around various thematic areas mainly focused on oncology, haematology, cardiovascular, digestive, transplantation, neuroscience, public health -epidemiology and primary care, genetic immunology and rare diseases, and biotechnology. During the year 2019 alone, 557 original articles and scientific reviews were published, 58.4% of them in journals of the first quartile (high impact), and more than 200 clinical trials and 73 doctoral theses were carried out.
Faced with the current pandemic, research groups of recognized prestige attached to the IMIB presented 20 research projects (14 translational and 6 clinical trials) to the urgent call launched by the ISCIII for the scientific and technological fight against the coronavirus that suffers the entire planet. Four of these proposals secured funding from that fund.
For the Day, Queen Letizia chose a white and floral summer style. She brought back her look from summer 2019 Haiti cooperative trip.
Queen Letizia was wearing a white wrap style sleeveless Zara drop linen top.
Letizia paired the top with Sweet Matitos Girasol Skirt.
She wore her pink Macarena Alba6 Serraje Rosa Wedges that she debuted during a visit to Seville.
Letizia finished her look with gold bamboo hoops
and her €90 Karen Hallam Signature ring.