Sirane’s new absorbent fruit pad technology
New absorbent fruit pad technology from Sirane which uses anti-microbials to extend the shelf-life of soft and delicate fruit proved a huge draw at Fruit Logistica in Berlin last week.
Fruit Logistica was the first place we have shown our ABV technology to the world – and we took it to the German capital expecting to generate a lot of interest in the product – but the response was overwhelming, with the first two days of the show particularly busy.
Jeremy Haydn-Davies, sales director, said: “As a new technology, our ABV absorbent fruit pads drew a lot of attention, and brought a lot of visitors to the stand. Shelf-life is such a big deal in the fruit trade, and so people are always interested in new developments.
“ABV is a great product, and as a result of contacts made at Fruit Logistica we expect to be running a number of trials in fruit packaging with companies from all over the world.”
Sirane’s new Dri-Fresh Fresh-Hold ABV pads contain a blend of natural bio-flavonoids and organic acids which work together to naturally enhance the fruit’s own protective defences. Combined with the absorbency within the pad, they offer an outstanding level of protection.
The technology can be supplied as standard absorbent pads or incorporated into our Dri-Fresh Soft-Hold pads – absorbent cushioned pads which prevent damage to soft-fruit during transportation. The technology is activated by moisture – functioning only when needed.
Simon Balderson added: “Shelf-life extension for fruit, particularly for the soft-fruit world, is a massive deal throughout the industry, just a few extra days can make a big difference
“Soft-fruit has a short-shelf-life, meaning additional shelf-life is very valuable. It has little in the way of protective skin, so is vulnerable to fungal and bacterial degradation. As it is soft it is also quite vulnerable to damage during transportation – often over vast distances.
“ABV is a completely natural solution to those problems that is very effective. What we’re doing is effectively taking the fruit’s own natural defence mechanism and supplying it when needed in a concentrated form. The results so far have proven to be very impressive.
“The combination of flavonoids which are anti-oxidants and anti-microbial, with organic acids including citric acid and ascorbic acids is harmless, as all elements are found naturally within fruit. It is clean, simple, and effective. Nature itself often has the answers.
“Many companies have tried to deliver anti-microbial packaging, but this is an effective way of delivering the technology from within the pack right to the heart of the problem.
“ABV complements our existing shelf-life extending technologies, including absorbent cushioned pads, anti-fungal pads, ethylene-absorbing pads and labels and more.”
Dri-Fresh Fresh-Hold ABV has full FDA and EU approval. Very successful trials of ABV have already been held in the US with cut fruit – including strawberries – and in the Far East.
Those trials have shown shelf-life extension of several days. Simon Balderson added: “Actual shelf-life extension can be notoriously difficult to quantify, as it is affected by many parameters, however we believe this will offer several days or more additional shelf-life.
“What we always suggest is that customers run their own trials in their own supply chain, and see for themselves – with their own unique parameters – how the product works.”
Fruits that would potentially benefit from ABV technology include all types of berries – strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries – as well as other fruits vulnerable to damage including tomatoes, apricots, kiwi fruit, nectarines and grapes.
Sirane’s Dri-Fresh Soft-Hold cushioned pads are already being shipped in large quantities to berry producers across North and Central America and Chile – some of the biggest soft-fruit growing regions globally – with the product starting to appear on supermarket shelves worldwide, including the UK. Dri-Fresh Soft-Hold ABV will only increase this demand.
Sirane’s manufacturing facility in Guadalajara, Mexico, will be supplying much of this demand – and Adam Green, president of Sirane North America, was on the stand in Berlin to answer any questions from growers and exporters in the region wanting to know more.
Based right in the heart of the Mexican growing region – and close to many of the region’s major berry producers – Sirane Mexico opened mid-January. The 1,500 sq m unit will initially focus on manufacturing fresh produce packaging into this rapidly-expanding industry.
Sirane’s Dri-fresh Soft-Hold fruit cushioning pads are ‘absorbent bubble pads’ – perfect for berries of all types – combining the cushioning and protective properties of traditional bubble films with effective absorbency, high permeability and excellent product presentation.
Other products on show at Fruit Logistica included ethylene-absorbent fruit pads and ethylene-absorbent labels, cherry pads, absorbent crepe packaging for lining crates, and breathable bags and films for extending the shelf-life of fresh produce.
Jeremy Haydn-Davies added: “Other products, especially our standard absorbent fruit pads and our products offering ethylene absorbency, generated a lot of interest. Fruit Logistica has always been a good show for us – and 2016 proved to be no exception.”
Sirane is a highly innovative product development-to-manufacture company based in Telford, Shropshire. It has four divisions: food packaging; medical and healthcare; industrial and horticultural. The company specialises in absorbent solutions.
