Hazel Technologies, a company developing new, USDA-funded post-harvest technologies to extend shelf-life in fresh produce, has announced that it has achieved successful commercial results with multiple leading distributors of tropical fruit.
According to Hazel, results include up to five days longer shelf-life, reduced shrink rates of up to 50 per cent, and higher sales in several tropical categories, including guava, dragon fruit, passion fruit, greenskin avocados and starfruit.
Companies using Hazel Tech’s USDA-funded post-harvest product line for tropicals include WP Produce, the largest tropical avocado distributor in the world, Sweet Seasons, one of the largest tropical fruit importers from Mexico to the US and Canada, and Frieda’s Specialty Produce, one of the largest distributors of tropical produce in the world.
Hazel is a quarter-sized biodegradable and food-safe packaging insert that is placed in the box during packing, which extends the shelf life of a variety of fresh produce items.
The new technology has been validated by researchers at universities such as UC-Davis and Cornell University.
“We’ve seen tremendous increases in the shelf life of our Desbry Tropical Avocados with Hazel’s active technology,” commented Chris Gonzalez, vice-president at WP Produce. “We’ve received great feedback from retailers who appreciate the reduced shrink the additional 4-5 days of shelf life offers. This technology is especially useful in protecting our Tropical Avocados on longer transit times to Canada, the West Coast and the Caribbean.”
“Hazel Tech is fast and an easy-to-use solution for tropical fruit growers, packers, and retailers to maintain longer shelf life, reduce food waste, and increase category sales,” added Aidan Mouat, CEO of Hazel Technologies.
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