UK: It'sFresh! Extends to Tesco tomatoes
It’sFresh! was commercially adopted last year after extensive trialling on berries. Tesco will be the first retailer to confirm that the apparent benefits from a successful series of simulation tests on tomatoes will be transferred to the store and home environments. The pilot will involve British tomatoes grown on the vast Thanet Earth complex in Kent.
It has been developed and brought to market in the UK by It'sFresh! Ltd which it maintains it is 100 times more effective than any similar existing materials.
The technology is a food grade non-woven strip coated with a high tech mixture of minerals and clays that allows for removal of endogenous ethylene in fruit and vegetables to below physiologically active levels, thus reducing spoilage. Completely safe, the strip, which sits inside the packaging, measures just 8 cm by 4.5cm and will not affect its recyclability.
Tesco Ambient Salad and Avocado Technical Manager Steve Deeble said: "This is a major breakthrough in the fight to combat food waste and could save the fresh produce industry tens of millions of pounds each year."
"It will also mean that shoppers will be able to keep fruit and vegetables for longer without feeling pressured to eat them within days of buying them. There will be no added cost to the consumer."
Simon Lee, director of Its Fresh! Ltd added that several other produce lines are currently under trials with leading retailers. "It has been estimated that up to 25% of food is thrown away within the supply chain from grower to retailer to in-home. Vegetables and then fruit are the main contenders," he revealed.
"At a time when the whole industry is looking for cost savings, and being influenced by environmental issues, less waste is a big part of the answer as it reduces energy and labour, and ultimately increases consumption, creating happier customers".
For more information:
Simon Lee
Food Freshness Technology Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 7770 934 005 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 (0) 7770 934 005 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
[email protected]
www.foodfreshness.com