Marks & Spencer became the first UK retailer to use It’s Fresh! ethylene-remover technology inside its strawberry punnets on Monday this week.
The retailer hopes its introduction will help reduce food waste as part of its Plan A sustainability target.
The small in-pack strip is supplied by UK firm It’s Fresh and although the technology has been used in transit packaging by other retailers in the past, M&S is the first to use it in-pack. It means that shoppers will be able to store berries in the fridge for two days longer than previously. Trials carried out by the retailer showed a minimum in-store wastage saving of four per cent during the peak summer strawberry season, which equates to some 40,000 packs. _ugh Mowat, M&S agronomist said that fruit taste will be as good six days after purchase as on the day of purchase. “This new technology is a win-win for our customers - not only will their strawberries taste better for longer, but we really hope it will help them to reduce their food waste as they no longer need to worry about eating their strawberries as soon as they buy them.”
The It’sFresh! strip measures just 8cm x 4.5cm and does not affect the recyclability of the packaging. The active ingredient in the strip is a patented mixture of minerals and clay, offering over one hundred times greater ethylene absorption capacity compared with any other known materials. The retailer is now looking to extend the use of It’sFresh! Across all soft-fruit packaging. “This new technology is a very exciting step forwards for the fresh fruit industry and we hope that we can extend the use of it into more of our products during 2012,” added Mowat.
It’s Fresh! has supplied the technology to other retailers Has The patented strip is being manufactured and supplied to M&S by ‘It'sFresh!’ - a British high tech innovations company focused on delivering comprehensive solutions for food freshness. ‘It'sFresh!’ have supplied the technology to other UK retailers for transit packaging, however, this is the first time it is being used in packaging for consumer products.
Simon Lee It’sFresh! director said: “Our technology is focused on food freshness designed to increase consumer satisfaction, taste and quality, through simple, safe, sustainable solutions. We are delighted to be pioneering this British technology with M&S on strawberries and are working on other products that will be in-store in the near future”.
