The company said its moisture control technology that can triple shelf-life of berries, leafy greens and cucumbers
US food tech company SAVRpak has launched a pioneering moisture control technology that it says can extend the shelf-life and freshness of produce by up to three times.
The SAVRpak Drop-In is a thermodynamic, biodegradable, chemical-free pouch that is placed in produce packaging before being sealed.
It works by eradicating the number one cause of premature moulding, wilting and spoilage of peel-less and packaged produce including berries, leafy greens and mini cucumbers: condensation.
Within just one minute, SAVRpak’s Atmospheric Control and Transmission (ACT) technology removes 50 per cent of condensation and then continues to keep condensation from forming by absorbing excess moisture and purifying the atmosphere within the package to slow the aging process.
By controlling the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, the moisture that leads to sogginess, mould, and harmful microbial bacteria is eradicated enabling produce to maintain its freshness up to three times longer.
The company said successful trials have been completed with Divine Flavor, RCG Fruits and Agrovision, while Frubana is also testing the solution.
“We’re excited to be able to address an area of food preservation that has been unachievable to date, and that’s the ability to extend the life of peel-less produce like berries and leafy greens,” said SAVRpak co-CEO Grant Stafford.
“Building on our success in the foodservice delivery realm, we have successfully transformed the basic technology to address a category that lacked a solution to keep food fresh for longer while reducing food waste – a top culprit of greenhouse gas emissions.”
SAVRpak plans to roll out the new technology in the US and Latin America with berry suppliers that have already undergone successful trials proving the efficacy of the technology in extending the shelf-life of produce.
The company has carried out trials with Divine Flavor for table grapes, RCG Fruits for blackberries and Agrovision for blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Frubana, a farm-to-restaurant tech company, is also testing SAVRpak’s thermodynamic technology with intent to maintain freshness of the produce it ships to restaurants throughout Latin America.
“We saw the most amazing results through our berry trials with SAVRpak,” said RCG Fruits general director, Fernando Garibay.
“Blackberries in particular are very delicate, and often experience post-harvest reddening and other changes in visual appearance and taste which reduces marketability and results in waste.
“This is a challenge the industry has not been able to solve, but SAVRpak proved to keep our berries’ beautiful colour intact and kept them fresh for longer, maintaining the quality our customers count on.”
In preliminary trials, SAVRpak said the technology has proven to extend the shelf-life of goldenberries by more than 10 days, blackberries by 7+ days, raspberries 4-5+ days, and strawberries 4+ days.
Similarly, in a 2021 lab test with University of California, Davis, romaine lettuce stored with SAVRpak had significantly less condensation and moisture in the bags, and had lower water soaking, decay, and wilting scores compared to control samples.
UC Davis also found that SAVRpak decreased the bacteria found in lettuce across all storage protocols and evaluation days compared to Control samples. In the coming months, SAVRpak will begin cucumber trials with Agrizar.
