Avocados shelf life extension in ambient after sea freight
Material tested:
- Loose avocado, 4kg box
- It’s Fresh! small ethylene transit filter (added at source, 1 per pack after harvest)
Produce tested: avocado, variety Hass, source Chile
Company: fruit from Propal, assessments made by Lucca and Agri-Technologies
Test date: February 2012
Testing Method: The fruit was harvested and packed in Chile.
It was sea freighted for 27 days to South America. Once in the USA, the fruit was stored and 3 scenarios were replicated. 1st scenario: the fruit was held for 12 days in ambient temperatures, 2ndscenario: the fruit was held 12 days in cold storage at 6 to 8 °C + 4 days in ambient, 3rdscenario: the fruit was held 27 days in cold storage at 6 to 8 °C and 5 days in ambient. 3 assessments days were made per scenario.
Results:
- More even fruit was obtained with the technology It’s Fresh! with a reduction of markdowns in ambient store simulation compared to the Control.
- A better internal quality in-home was obtained with the technology It’s Fresh! (reduction of vascular issues and internal browning).
- Up to 2 days ambient shelf life extension was obtained with the It’s Fresh! technology on the 1stscenario (the Control failed after 4 days in ambient vs 8 days for It’s Fresh!) and on the 3rd scenario (Control failed on day 3 in ambient vs It’s Fresh! on day 5).
It’s Fresh!
Control
Figure 1 – Fruit from 32 days in cold storage + 6 days in ambient. Note how It’s Fresh! has less internal problems.