San Juan Capistrano, Calif. – SAVRpak, a food technology innovation company recognized as a Fast Company World Changing Idea and one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions, today announced the launch of SAVRpak Drop-In, the first-ever moisture control technology that extends the shelf life and freshness of produce up to four times. It does this by eradicating the number one cause of premature molding, wilting and spoilage of peel-less and packaged produce including berries, leafy greens and mini cucumbers: condensation. Successful trials have been completed with Divine Flavor, RCG Fruits and Agrovision, and Frubana is also testing the solution.
The SAVRpak Drop-In is a thermodynamic, biodegradable, chemical-free pouch that is placed in produce packaging before being sealed. Within just one minute, SAVRpak’s Atmospheric Control and Transmission (ACT) technology removes 50% of condensation and then continues to keep condensation from forming by absorbing excess moisture and purifying the atmosphere within the package to slow the aging process. By controlling the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, the moisture that leads to sogginess, mold, and harmful microbial bacteria is eradicated enabling produce to maintain its freshness up to four times longer.
“We’re excited to be able to address an area of food preservation that has been unachievable to date, and that’s the ability to extend the life of peel-less produce like berries and leafy greens,” said SAVRpak Co-CEO Grant Stafford. “Building on our success in the foodservice delivery realm, we have successfully transformed the basic technology to address a category that lacked a solution to keep food fresh for longer while reducing food waste – a top culprit of greenhouse gas emissions.”
The SAVRpak Drop-In produce solution will first roll out in the U.S. and Latin America with berry suppliers that have undergone successful trials proving the efficacy of the technology in extending the shelf-life of produce. Trials took place with Divine Flavor for table grapes, RCG Fruits for blackberries, and Agrovision for blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Frubana, a farm-to-restaurant tech company, is also testing SAVRpak’s thermodynamic technology with intent to maintain freshness of the produce it ships to restaurants throughout Latin America.
“We saw the most amazing results through our berry trials with SAVRpak,” said RCG Fruits General Director, Fernando Garibay. “Blackberries in particular are very delicate, and often experience postharvest reddening and other changes in visual appearance and taste which reduces marketability and results in waste. This is a challenge the industry has not been able to solve, but SAVRpak proved to keep our berries’ beautiful color intact and kept them fresh for longer, maintaining the quality our customers count on.”
In preliminary trials, SAVRpak has proven to extend the shelf-life of golden berries by 10+ days, blackberries 7+ days, raspberries 4-5+ days, and strawberries 4+ days. Similarly, in a 2021 lab test with University of California, Davis, romaine lettuce stored with SAVRpak had significantly less condensation and moisture in the bags, and had lower water soaking, decay, and wilting scores compared to control samples. UC Davis also found that SAVRpak decreased the bacteria found in lettuce across all storage protocols and evaluation days compared to Control samples. In the coming months, SAVRpak will begin cucumber trials with Agrizar.
In addition to fresh produce, SAVRpak has been fighting food waste and preserving the freshness of hot foods with the launch of its flagship product in 2021. The same innovative technology first made its debut for takeout and delivery foods, like french fries, pizza, and burgers, that too often get cold and soggy in route from restaurant to home. Restaurants across the U.S. and in 21 countries have turned to SAVRpak to integrate its solution to address the number one cause of bad delivery food. A recent partnership with the global leader in product distribution to the foodservice industry – Sysco – is expanding SAVRpak’s footprint by bringing its technology to independent and regional restaurant chains nationwide.
Similar to produce, condensation is also the culprit as to why food goes bad if it sits in a container for too long. As with produce, SAVRpak eradicates moisture that forms in route from restaurant to home and preserves food so it doesn’t deteriorate during transit. Today, SAVRpak’s shelf-life extending ability not only maintains food quality longer across takeout food and produce but has large implications for food waste reduction due to extended sell-by dates.
About SAVRpak
SAVRpak is a leading food technology solution that aims to eliminate food’s #1 enemy: condensation. SAVRpak’s Peel and Stick pad and Drop-In pouch change the environment inside a food container, removing the moisture and creating an environment to preserve the freshness and ‘intended’ state of the food. Named a Fast Company World Changing Idea finalist in 2022 and a TIME Magazine Best Invention in 2021, SAVRpak can be found in 41 states, 21 countries, and in takeout from hundreds of restaurants around the United States. SAVRpak is 100% chemical free, food-safe, single-use, and made of degradable plant-material. Learn more at www.savrpak.com.
