As global lockdowns and shutdowns increase, the need for fresh produce is increasingly important as consumers stock pantries to stay home as much as possible while restaurants are closed or are limited to offering takeaway options. With the need of fresh produce also comes the need for fresh produce ripening. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a fair amount of ‘panic buying’ that has cleared the shelves of many grocery stores,” says Greg Akins, CEO of Catalytic Generators. “From this, ripening centers have a duty to quickly replenish the shelves for fresh produce, which requires ethylene application.” Ethylene induces the ripening and de-greening of fresh produce and enhances the overall quality and appearance, resulting in a better consumer experience,
Uniformity
Ethylene is essential for the ripening of tropical fruit, citrus, and tomatoes. “Ripening occurs naturally through exposure to a small amount of this helpful compound,” Akins added. Fruits like bananas, mangoes and avocados release internal ethylene; this is the ripening trigger, regardless of whether ripening occurs on the plant or in a ripening room. Since the fruit is harvested mature, but green, and the internal flavor characteristics have developed, ethylene application allows these characteristics to improve even more; this produces better tasting fruit, ready for customers to take home and eat. Controlled ethylene application allows for shipments of fruit to destinations far from the growing regions. Once close to markets, the fruit can be placed in ripening rooms and the ripening can be regulated with ethylene, temperature, humidity, airflow and ventilation. “The result is uniform and controlled ripening.”
Essential business
Since ethylene application is critical to the ripening of fresh produce, Catalytic Generator’s office and manufacturing facility are considered essential to the agricultural infrastructure during this coronavirus crisis. Ethy-Gen® II and the ethylene that it creates for ripening are critical to the world’s supply of ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables. “Despite our home state Virginia having issued new responses to COVID-19, our office and production facility will remain open. We are committed to supplying the fresh produce industry with our resources to safely and effectively ripen fresh produce,” Akins said. “We will do our part to maintain our work, production and shipping schedules, and our technical support team is available via phone or email during this time.”
Catalytic Generators is doing everything possible to ensure continuity of supply. “We’ve polled our vendors and they are continuing normal operations. We’ve also talked to our partners in the freight industry and given the crucial role they play in moving supply chains, they are committed to maintaining normal operations as much as possible. However, the COVID-19 situation is certainly an unpredictable one, so disruptions in transportation are possible.” To reduce the chances of anyone becoming infected with COVID-19, the company has reduced the number of people in its facility by implementing staggered work schedules and decreased hours for its employees, without a reduction in pay.
For more information:
Greg Akins
Catalytic Generators
Tel: +1 (757) 855-0191
info@catalyticgenerators.com
www.catalyticgenerators.com