Save Foods, an Agri-Food Tech company specializing in eco crop protection that helps to reduce food waste and ensure food safety, is extending the range of applications of its eco crop protection treatment after successfully applying it to fresh berries in a recent trial. The results showed a significant reduction in produce waste while maintaining freshness over time.
While both healthy and popular with consumers, fresh berries present a major problem for growers, packers and retailers; they have a propensity for rapid bacterial growth, which leads to decay and waste. This translates to a very short shelf life, for example around five days for raspberries, resulting in excessive waste at the retail and consumer levels.
As consumer demand and industry supply grows, the search for a solution to reduce waste in the fresh berry industry has intensified. Conventional methods for reducing waste and maintaining freshness include refrigeration, special packaging and limiting supply to local markets. Maximizing the already substantial value in the berry industry relies in part on introducing new and unique methods. In 2020, the global berry and grape market was worth around US $826 billion and is expected to grow from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 6.8% to approximately US $1,205 billion by 2026.
In the trial performed at Trabelsi farm Ltd (also doing business as “Mesheq 77”), raspberries treated with Save Foods’ product retained their freshness, color, and volume, compared to the industry standard which became discolored and dehydrated in appearance (see image below). The trial exceeded the typical shelf life for berries, with ten days of cold storage and three more days at room temperature. As a result, Trabelsi farm had three times as many berries to sell, and fresher looking, longer lasting produce.
Yinon Plesser, CEO of Trabelsi Farm Ltd commented: “We found Save Foods' products to be extremely easy to implement and saw positive results from the very first treatment. The raspberries retained their freshness and there was an 80% reduction in waste. We envision that Save Foods’ treatment, by cutting down on waste and enriching the appearance of our berries, will help us penetrate new markets and grow our business globally.”
Dr. Neta Matis, COO of Save Foods’ Israeli subsidiary, Save Foods Ltd., noted: “This trial demonstrates that Save Foods’ treatment could have a transformative effect on the fresh berry industry. We have shown that our eco protection treatment helps solve two of the major problems in the industry: short shelf-life and a high level of waste and loss. We are looking forward to sharing our cost-effective, non-toxic treatment with growers worldwide, and facilitating access to new opportunities.”
For more information:
Mia Serra
Save Foods
Email: [email protected]