Ethylene-absorbing film is now used in Europe, a trend that could migrate to Canada.
    

“This product was originally developed with a corrugated packaging company in Spain,” explains Grant Ferguson, vice-president of sales and marketing for Chantler Packaging, an international company, with offices in Mississauga, Ontario. 
    

“It’s a product geared towards high-end retailers with high-value produce such as peaches and cherries,” says Ferguson. The PrimePro Core, incorporated into micro flute material,  absorbs ethylene, the plant hormone that’s released when produce starts to ripen and decay. The product extends shelf life without having to put produce into modified atmosphere packaging. The aesthetic needs of retailers are met while consumers get access to the freshest fruit possible. 
    

The product was developed in partnership with Flexomed, a packaging printing and graphics company based in Valencia, Spain. The firm took the PrimePro shelf life extension technology and laminated it to corrugated trays and compact boxes, leading to an easy application of 
ethylene-absorbing material without the requirement of additional materials or labour, such as tying, sealing, or gassing. 
    

PrimePro Core won a LiderPack Award, annually held in Barcelona, for Best Food Packaging 2015. Efficacy of the product has been proven at the University of California-Davis at the Post-Harvest Institute.  
    

While not available in Canada to date, stone fruit, cherries and pears would be ideal candidates for this kind of packaging presentation.  These are delicate products that need to be packaged with something more robust than a tray and caddy.