With a proven track record of introducing innovative solutions to the market for decades, Oppy has completed a trial of a new shelf life extension technology from Hazel Technologies with South American red seedless grapes.
The goal of the trial was twofold, to achieve greener and more turgid stems, with no signs of shriveled grapes, and to maintain superior storage life under transit and warehouse conditions.
By bringing the latest innovations from Hazel Technologies, whose Hazel™ for grape sachets release active, shelf-life enhancing vapors to slow food wastage during transit and storage, Oppy aims to ultimately leave a wide-spread impact across the supply chain benefitting consumers, retailers and the environment.
“Oppy enjoys an excellent reputation in the market for its unrivalled level of quality control, thanks to our commitment to innovation and technology across our operations,” Oppy’s National Quality Control Manager Patricio Mendoza said. “The success of this trial is a reflection of our ongoing, focused efforts in being first to market with pioneering technology that adds tangible value to retailers and consumers alike.”
The trial was carried out using pallets of grapes that were shipped from South America to Los Angeles, some of which were treated with Hazel’s sachets while the others were shipped without any additions. Upon arrival, the treated grapes had a crisper texture with stems that showed no signs of dehydration, were greener and looked stronger, while containing no shriveled fruit.
The results suggested that Hazel sachets are effective on varieties with drier stems with further studies needed to explore the broader applications of this technology. Areas of future evaluation could focus on the effect of treatment while fruit is in storage and at the store.
This is one of several trials that Oppy has conducted with Hazel Tech, including an earlier project with kiwifruit that was held in conjunction with a University of California, Davis study that focused on the application of Hazel™ for kiwifruit.
“Our Hazel™ for grape partnership with Oppy, the largest importer of South American grapes, demonstrates how impactful our technologies can be in improving sales, reducing food waste, and providing a better eating experience across the globe for consumers of fresh table grapes,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO at Hazel Technologies, Inc.
About Oppy
Growing, marketing and distributing fresh produce from around the globe for more than 160 years, Vancouver, BC-based Oppy discovers and delivers the best of the world’s harvest. With over 50 million boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables grown on every continent moving through its supply chain annually, Oppy offers popular favorites from avocados and berries to apples and oranges year-round, alongside innovative seasonal specialties. Over the years, Oppy has introduced North Americans to a number of items across its diverse produce range, including Granny Smith, JAZZ and Envy apples, as well as green and gold kiwifruit. Go to oppy.com to learn more.
About Hazel Technologies, Inc.
Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new packaging technologies to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech® services over 100 of the largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers in the world. In 2020, Hazel expects to be used with over 3.2 billion pounds of fresh produce, preventing over 270 million pounds of fresh produce from going to waste. For more information, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com.
