AgroFresh is well-known in the industry for their pre and post-harvest solutions for fresh produce. The company has recently introduced some new products on the market, one of which is SmartCitrus which helps citrus growers to create a produce freshness program tailored specifically to their goals and needs.
AgroFresh were of course at this year’s Fruit Attraction in Madrid to promote SmartCitrus as well the other new and well-known solutions for fresh produce.
Amy Tranzillo, Global Marketing Director and Nathalie Gocha, Global Product Management Director explains more about these solutions.
“We have always had a very strong position with our post-harvest solutions for apples with SmartFresh,” explains Amy. “This technology revolutionised how apples were stored and we have diversified the 1-MCP molecule to different crops including kiwifruit, stone fruit, melons, avocados, pears and others sensitive to ethylene.
“After acquiring a Valencian company (Tecnidex) which was very strong in citrus, we were really able to expand our coverage beyond where we were with apples, and here at Fruit Attraction we are really promoting our citrus portfolio.”
Amy Tranzillo, Global Marketing Director and Nathalie Gocha, Global Product Management Director
“SmartCitrus is a total solution for citrus producers, our team here in Spain are among the leading citrus experts in terms of bringing that quality right from the field through to the end product. Through our intelligent integration of products, technologies, and services, SmartCitrus helps citrus packers easily create a total integrated quality system to maintain freshness, reduce food loss and comply with food safety,” said Nathalie.
“SmartCitrus was introduced earlier this year, but we have been recommending the various parts of the solution for around 40 years. The concept of SmartCitrus is the willingness to bring a program to our customers to enable them to optimise the supply chain and the quality of the fruit and minimise waste. Within the portfolio there are many products, you cannot have just one solution for everybody; it depends on the market expectations, the duration of transit etc. The equipment for applying the product is also important to minimise water use and ensure correct application of antimicrobials.
“There are many aspects to a citrus quality system that differs between customers, so AgroFresh provides a high-touch service model to advise our customers on what they will need at the start of each season. This provides more peace of mind than when you have to assemble the whole program yourself.”
VitaFresh Botanicals
Another new product range in the AgroFresh portfolio introduced earlier this year is VitaFresh Botanicals which are plant-based, edible coatings to preserve inner freshness. There are different variations in this range: VitaFresh Botanicals Life, Protect and Softfruit.
“There is an increased demand for plant-based natural coatings following the trend of vegan eating. Based on this we have a range of products and we will continue to enlarge it. We have VitaFresh Botanical Life which has the vegan certification, it can be used for different fruit with very good performance recently proven on avocados,” said Nathalie.
“VitaFresh Botanicals Protect works really well on melons and VitaFresh Botanicals SoftFruit on stone fruit as it gives a very natural look to the fruit while creating a barrier against dehydration, which is very important. We will continue to expand that portfolio to other crops. Again, working with our customers is very important and understanding which of their products should be coated in the coming years, and we will invest in R&D to find the best solutions for them.”
Harvista
“Harvista is a near-harvest solution used to increase quality yield and better manage the harvest for apples and pears. As you can imagine with Covid and lockdowns and labour issues, harvest has been a real challenge for some growers. Harvista has been approved for use in both North and South America, South Africa, Turkey, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. In Europe we have received emergency permits in a number of countries due to the Covid situation and labour shortage,” said Amy.
“The main advantage of Harvista is that it can delay harvesting and give you more time to make important decisions. For example when there is a labour shortage and you realise your crew is not coming, you can apply Harvista to the fruit to ensure quality at harvest. We have also expanded Harvista for cherries and blueberries in Chile and USA. The use on cherries allows more blossoms to develop into fruitlets and enhances yield potential,” explains Nathalie.
FreshCloud
“Here at Fruit Attraction, we are also promoting our innovative digital technology called FreshCloud, which offers real-time analytics and helps our customers add visibility and insight into their processes. From monitoring harvest times and taking all different types of measurements in the packhouse to getting real time analytics as to what is happening at all points in the packing process and beyond, FreshCloud can change the game and make the entire supply chain more efficient and effective,“ said Amy.
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