Many produce items, like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. can’t be washed and are packed in the field. “This poses a high degree of risk to product safety,” says Helmut Leili with Flavour Shield. “After years of extensive and commercial testing, we have developed a system that sanitizes fresh fruits and vegetables after they’ve been packed and palletized. It took us more than 10 years and 10,000+ experiments,” Leili shared. “We are now the only company in the world that offers this technology.”
Ozone is a natural oxidizer (disinfectant) that completely reverts back to oxygen. “It leaves no residues and significantly reduces pathogens on fruits and vegetables, making them much safer to eat,” said Leili.
Strawberries treated with Flavour Shield's technology versus untreated berries.
Shelf-life extension
In addition to the sanitizing capability and offering a safer product, the technology also lengthens the shelf-life. In addition to berries, the technology can be applied to many other produce varieties, including avocados, grapes, peaches, pears, etc. “The improvement in shelf-life is significant on all products tested, resulting in an increase in shelf-life of 30 to 50 percent. This matters as shipping times and potential delays can create a situation where shelf-life enhancement makes the difference between produce arriving in good quality or produce going to waste. The combination of reducing pathogens and extending shelf-life reduces produce shrink by up to 50 percent.”
The technology uses ozone as the principal sanitizing agent, coupled with a proprietary process which allows for thorough penetration into the palletized master boxes of bulk product. The use of ozone use on food products in this manner has been approved by the FDA since 2001.
“Our mission is to increase the consumption of naturally healthy perishable foods while at the same time increasing the value and security stream for all parts of the food supply chain,” Leili finished.
Flavour Shield will be available to discuss this new technology at Fruit Logistica in Berlin between February 7 and 9. Visit the company in Hall 3.2, booth A-41-B.
Contact:
Flavour Shield
Tel: +31 652-764-050
[email protected]
https://flavourshield.com