Tesco has become the first grocery retailer in the UK to adopt the recently developed It’s Fresh! ethylene remover, in a trial project involving British tomatoes grown at southern England’s Thanet Earth glasshouse complex.
The remover, which its backers claim is 100 times more effective than any similar existing materials, is a food grade non-woven strip coated with a mixture of minerals and clays that enables the removal of ethylene from fresh produce, reducing spoilage.
The strip, which has been created by It’s Fresh! Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Food Freshness Technology, measures 8 cm by 4.5 cm and can apparently be kept safely within packaging, without affecting its recyclability.
In a statement, Tesco ambient salad and avocado technical manager, Steve Deeble, said: “This is a major breakthrough in the fight to combat food waste and could save the fresh produce industry tens of millions of pounds each year.
“It will also mean that shoppers will be able to keep fruit and vegetables for longer without feeling pressured to eat them within days of buying them.”
Simon Lee, director of It's Fresh! Ltd, added that several other produce lines were currently under trials with leading retailers.
“It has been estimated that up to 25 per cent of food is thrown away within the supply chain from grower to retailer to in-home. Vegetables and then fruit are the main contenders.
“At a time when the whole industry is looking for cost savings, and being influenced by environmental issues, less waste is a big part of the answer as it reduces energy and labour, and ultimately increases consumption, creating happier customers.”
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