Baltimore Innovations has launched a filtration system capable of radically reducing fresh produce wastage.
By removing ethylene gas and microbial spores, Always Fresh is designed to decrease the ripening rate of products which can lead to premature rotting.
The system works by allowing air to pass through four chambers: a pre-filter to remove coarse grade airborne waste and dust; a hepa filter to remove finer microbes; a UV bulb array to keep the internal filters sterile; and a catalytic reaction chamber to remove even finer microbes or ethylene gas. Always Fresh has only just been launched but is already performing well, according to Baltimore’s business development manager, Saul Edwards.
Speaking at last week’s Fruit Focus exhibition in Kent he told the Journal: “In trials it has reduced spore counts by as much as 40 per cent. It was originally developed for the petro-chemical industry; it has taken about a year to design for the fresh produce industry but it is already proving popular for various different types of fruit.”
Malet Azoulay was one company involved in commercial trials of the product and has reported a 43 per cent decrease in mould levels in ripening rooms containing the Always Fresh filtering system.
Malet Azoulay ripening manager Les Walker said: “We have been very pleased with the results that we have obtained with the Always Fresh system, and are currently looking to expand our use of the system throughout our ripening and storage facility.”
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