TEL AVIV, Israel – Save Foods (Nasdaq: SVFD) (“Save Foods” or the “Company”), an agrifood tech company focused on developing and selling eco-friendly products specifically designed to extend the shelf life and ensure the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables, today announced that following the completion of several successful field trials of Save Foods’ pre-harvest products conducted by Dr. Jim Adaskaveg, Professor at the Microbiology and Plant Pathology Department at the University of California, Riverside, the Board of Directors of the Company approved increased collaboration with this university and instructed the Company’s scientific team to present a working plan for the pre-harvest application within the coming 90 days. The previous studies demonstrated that pre-harvest applications of Save Foods’ products are effective at mitigating the presence of decay-causing pathogens on the surface of citrus fruits. Removing pathogen inoculum loads reduces the main decays of citrus such as Penicillium, sour rot, Alternaria rot, Mucor rot, and Rhizopus rot. To ensure the harvest of higher quality fruits and to avoid/reduce food waste, treatment against the pathogens starts in the field. Currently, the number of treatment applications is strictly monitored and limited.
In a press release issued on October 20 of this year, the Company reported that for the last couple of years, its products were tested to evaluate the efficacy and impact of pre-harvest treatments on the quality of citrus fruit varieties. These studies, conducted by Dr. Adaskaveg, suggested that the shelf life of citrus fruits can be significantly improved when treated with Save Foods’ products prior to harvest.
In a recent study on mandarins, Save Foods’ product was applied to field-inoculated fruit one day before harvest at a 3% concentration, which reduced sour rot from 67.9% in the untreated control to 1.2% after injuring and incubating the fruit for 10 days at 20°C. Dr. Adaskaveg commented: “When growers harvest crops, they often rely on postharvest treatments to reduce pathogens, but our studies show that by applying the Save Foods product just before harvest, the performance of post-harvest treatments and the shelf life of the fruit is greatly improved. Save Foods may offer growers an eco-friendly and safe treatment that may be applied up to the day of harvest.”
Dr. Neta Matis, VP R&D of Save Foods Ltd., the Company’s subsidiary, commented: “These exciting results bring us one step closer to the potential commercialization of our pre-harvest product. The study included four varieties of citrus fruits including the “Valencia” orange. The study demonstrated that nine days after harvest Save Foods treatment reduced the incidence of decay (waste) by more than 75%.”
Dan Sztybel, the CEO of Save Foods Ltd.: “Treating the fruit in the field is a huge market opportunity; in 2019 the world’s total citrus fruit harvested was estimated at 9.85 million hectares. Our studies have shown that applying our product in the field significantly reduces the presence of decay-causing pathogens from the fruit surface. The studies showed that our pre-harvest treatment is a practical and environmentally friendly approach for the control of foodborne and plant pathogens, and this reduces food loss and improves food safety.”
Mr. Sztybel continued: “We are encouraged by this important milestone and we look forward to reporting the growth of our portfolio which already includes protocols for post-harvest treatments of citrus, avocado, mango, bell peppers, microgreens, pears and more.”
About Save Foods
Save Foods is an innovative, dynamic company addressing two of the most significant challenges in the agrifoodtech industry: food waste & loss and food safety. Save Foods is dedicated to delivering integrated solutions for improved safety, freshness and quality, every step of the way from field to fork. Collaborating closely with its customers, Save Foods develops new solutions that benefit the entire supply chain and improve the safety and quality of life of both the workers and the consumers alike. Save Foods’ initial applications are in post-harvest treatments in fruit and vegetable packing houses processing citrus, avocado, pears, bell peppers and mangos. By controlling and preventing pathogen contamination and significantly reducing the use of hazardous chemicals and their residues, Save Foods’ products not only prolong fresh produce shelf life and reduce food loss and waste, but they also ensure a safe, green, and healthy product.
For more information visit our website at https://savefoods.co/
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, we are using forward-looking statements in this press release when we discuss increased collaboration with the University of California, the presentation of a working plan for the pre-harvest application within the coming 90 days, that the shelf life of citrus fruits can be significantly improved when treated by the Save Foods products prior to harvest, that Save Foods may offer growers an eco-friendly and safe treatment that may be applied up to the day of harvest, that treating the fruit in the field is a huge market opportunity, and reporting the growth of the Company’s portfolio. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on our current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including market conditions and the satisfaction of all conditions to, and the closing of, the offering, as well as those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Save Foods’ annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. We are not responsible for the contents of third-party websites.
