Broccoli may look muscular but it’s deceivingly fragile. Once sliced from its thick stalk and sheltering leaves, its days are numbered. The florets are prone to yellowing after just five days and the trunk has a propensity to turn limp. 

Traditionally, harvested broccoli has been packed with a cap of ice to provide shelf life of up to 10 days. But that practice of shipping ice over miles – and days – is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

Verdant Technologies, an American agtech company headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, estimates that status-quo methods for transporting broccoli can demand up to 3,500 gallons of ice per trailer load to keep it forest-green fresh. That amounts to 13,230 litres of water, an increasingly precious resource in North America.

Factor in the energy required to freeze that water, weighting half the cargo load with ice rather than produce, as well as safety issues from ice melt while in transit from field to distribution centre to the grocery store, and the conclusion becomes clear. Delivering fresh, iced broccoli is a pain point for growers.

In the lab

Researchers at Verdant Technologies are proving they can do better based on a novel use of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an off-patent, synthetic plant growth regulator that’s been used for decades in long-term apple storage. 1-MCP slows down ripening of fresh produce by blocking the binding of ethylene, a naturally-occurring growth hormone.

“Our proprietary, HarvestHold Fresh technology works,” confirms Matt Aronson, chief revenue officer, Verdant Technologies, adding that the innovative science was in developing a process to incorporate 1-MCP into an easy-to-apply sheet which then gradually releases the right amount of active ingredient during shipping. HarvestHold Fresh sheets, currently designed as an in-field application, can be positioned quickly in the bottom of the packing carton. 

Following extensive U.S. trials with Sobeys proving that the technology works - from field to fork – Verdant Technologies obtained registration for HarvestHold Fresh with Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency in April 2024. In just three short months, it has been put to practical use in Canada.

In the field

“Our family has been growing broccoli for 50 years,” says Jocelyn Gibouleau, Les Productions Margiric, Laval, Québec. In total, the family grows a thousand acres, supplying clients as far away as Surrey, British Columbia.

“Broccoli is different from any other commodity,” he explains. “Broccoli is very sensitive.”

In-field harvesting doesn’t change very much as one worker tears off a HarvestHold Fresh perforated sheet – like a paper towel roll -- and places it in the bottom of every corrugated box or RPC. The benefits become life-sized once the broccoli is transported from the field to the packing line. Compare and contrast the simplicity of the sheet with the energy-intensive ice-making and ice-packing process. 

“Innovation is always hard in the transition because you have all this capital invested in ice-making equipment – I call it Margaritaville. But when you understand all the problems that can happen to your product once it leaves your farm, you have to help with a solution for the entire chain,” says Gibouleau.

“We need something to protect our produce through to the consumer,” he continues. “If the produce is of good quality, then our retail customers will buy more.” 

Gibouleau points out that 30 per cent of the family’s broccoli business is now shrink- wrapped broccoli crowns. However, the iceless broccoli is more environmentally sustainable in several ways:  no plastic wrap, energy savings, worker safety on dry floors and no waxed corrugated cartons. 

“If this technology works, then all the chain stores should switch,” he predicts.

At the distribution centre

Thus far, the team at the Sobeys distribution centre (DC) in Boucherville, on Montréal’s south shore, gives HarvestHold Fresh a thumbs up. Richard Lagacé, national director of quality control, and Enrico Charest, national produce sourcing manager, are integrating HarvestHold Fresh into the centre’s routine.

“Everyone in the chain has to change their muscle memory,” says Lagacé. “It’s sometimes as simple as the grower remembering to have enough HarvestHold Fresh sheets on hand. Taking out the ice is a big thing for us. This new technology is extending shelf life by five to seven days, depending on the variety.” 

Once the iceless broccoli arrives at the DC, it’s probed for temperature, measured for size and evaluated for any defects. The load is then placed in cold storage at an optimal temperature for overnight/next morning distribution to Sobeys stores. Another advantage is that iceless broccoli doesn’t need to be isolated from other commodities. Current food safety practice dictates that iced broccoli must be stored separately to prevent potential cross-contamination from leaking water.

“I was skeptical of this pilot at first,” admits Lagacé. “But there’s no noise on the line with iceless broccoli.” In DC parlance, his comment translates to fewer complaints and returns.

The driving force behind this Sobeys’ initiative is Tom Pierce, national director of supplier development and direct store delivery. Sobeys’ one-team, one-dream approach has resulted in buy-in from top executives through to DC staff, from individual growers through to produce managers at store level. With an imminent chain-wide rollout of HarvestHold Fresh broccoli, he’s keen to monitor the impact, listen to chain response and tweak where necessary. 

“We’re now testing how different broccoli varieties respond with HarvestHold Fresh throughout the growing season,” says Pierce. “When broccoli is arriving from the U.S., the varieties change over the season.”

At the grocery store

At the Sobeys’ store level, produce manager Maxime Beaurdgard is equally enthusiastic.  Iceless broccoli is having a positive impact beyond shelf life at the front of store. Behind the broad swinging doors at the back of store, Beaurdgard highlights the significance of no leaking water on the stock room floor. In fact, improved employee health by reducing the risk of slipping on wet floors may prove to be the most visible impact on the store level from iceless broccoli. But of course, reducing the physical demands of removing 20 pounds of ice per 40-pound box is also a plus.

For his part, Guillaume Durocher, Sobeys lead for strategy and innovation, fruits and vegetables, is pleased with the consumer acceptance. “The broccoli is still crispy,” he says. “That’s what you want for broccoli – firm and no yellowing!” 

To date, the initiative with iceless broccoli has gone so well that Tom Pierce anticipates a roll-out to all Sobeys growers in November 2024. “Real world testing is so important to success,” says Pierce. 

What’s next?

Verdant Technologies is keeping further product developments close to the chest. But it would be no surprise to hear of ongoing research with climacteric fruits and vegetables -- melons, stone fruits, tomatoes – that experience a rise in ethylene and continue to ripen post-harvest. It would certainly be of benefit for the entire supply chain to manage that process more precisely. 

But ask the Sobeys team assembled in the distribution centre what they would like to see next. The reply is instant, and unanimous: “Do berries!”

Innovative applications of 1-MCP technology hold promise for horticulture beyond feel-good, sound bites about sustainability. The practical benefits are here today and on the ground: reduced input costs for growers, improved worker safety and extended shelf life.