SmartFresh, the post-harvest technology used extensively in apples and pears, is now available for tomatoes in Canada. 

“SmartFresh revolutionized the apple industry 18 years ago,” said AgroFresh CEO Jordi Ferre. “We have continued to enhance our technology, bolster our expertise and deepen our collaboration with customers so that they can use SmartFresh to support even more of their produce supply chain.”

 According to the company news release, SmartFresh benefits include:

Ready-to-Eat Freshness. Delays the ripening process to protect just-picked freshness and quality for consumers.

Ripening Management. Supports post-harvest ripening and conditioning protocols in various supply chain stages.

Fruit Quality. Reduces weight loss and disorders to achieve a bigger packout. Helps protect fruit skin, which is fruit’s natural protective barrier.

Storage. Extends the storage window to improve inventory flexibility.

New Business Opportunities. Supports business opportunities in distant geographic markets.

Sustainability & Food Waste Reduction. Enables fresher fruit through the supply chain, which decreases food waste.

Another produce freshness solution in the AgroFresh portfolio that can benefit Canadian growers, packers and retailers is RipeLock technology. Previously brought to market for banana freshness extension, the RipeLock brand is now a platform for custom packaging solutions and services including modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), modified humidity packaging (MHP) and consumer packaging. This value-added packaging helps to maintain produce quality throughout the supply chain and is available in formats as large as box liners or as small as retail pouches, both with and without printing. 

Source: AgroFresh April 29, 2020 news release