CHICAGO, IL – Hazel Technologies Inc., a developer of new USDA-funded technologies to protect quality in the produce supply chain and fight food waste, announces successful pilots with tropical fruit grower-shippers Seasons Farm Fresh and AMR Agro. Following continued testing with the Hazel™ line of products, each group will further integrate Hazel Tech® into their supply chains for mango, tropical avocado, rambutan, and soursop.
According to a 2020 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the tropical fruit category is the 3rd most valuable category globally behind apples and bananas. The same report states that tropicals show the fastest average annual growth rate among all internationally traded food commodities. With such significant volume growth in the coming decade, sustainability is a key focus for tropical suppliers. Many suppliers have turned to Hazel Tech to meet their sustainability ambitions.
“In testing, we have seen Hazel Tech® extend the shelf life of tropical fruits like soursop, an extremely perishable item, by 45%. Quality improvements like this directly impact our sales while maintaining a sustainable product as nature intended,” said Gabe Bernal, General Manager at Miami, FL-based Seasons Farm Fresh. Seasons Farm Fresh, a vertically integrated grower and packer of tropical fruit, is the largest importer of soursop into the US, and will be starting their sixth consecutive season importing premium rambutan from Honduras in October.
“We observed that Hazel™ helps ensure consistent, quality arrivals for our growing tropical avocado freight programs, with 10 days of additional shelf life,” said Raul Reyes, Co-Owner of Dominican Republic-based AMR Agro. AMR, founded in 2007, distributes tropical fruits globally.
“Hazel Technologies was founded in 2015. That same year, the United States Department of Agriculture issued its first-ever mandate that we must reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Accord,” commented Aidan Mouat, CEO, Hazel Technologies, “Given the high projected growth of tropical fruit production cultivated to feed a growing global population in the next decade, developing more waste-reducing technologies for the tropical fruit supply chain is a top priority.”
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About Hazel Technologies:
Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new solutions to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce and reduce food waste. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech® services over 150 of the world’s largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers. Selected as a Finalist for Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas and winner of “Best Sustainable Packaging” at the 2020 World Food Innovation Awards, the company’s patent-pending technologies have been tested by top academic research programs including UC Davis, Cornell University, and Oregon State University. In 2020, Hazel is on track to be used with over 3.2 billion pounds of fresh produce, preventing more than 270 million pounds from going to waste.
For more information, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com.
About Seasons Farm Fresh:
Seasons Farm Fresh has blossomed into a partner in a global network of farms with operations in nine countries spanning across three continents. Our company began with a modest vision: to find the best, most exciting fruit around and share it with the world! Whether it be red dragonfruit coming from South Florida or rambutan picked in the jungles of Honduras, we scour the globe to bring the best fruit possible to our customers.
For more information, visit www.seasonsfarmfresh.com
About AMR Agro:
A little more than a decade ago, a group of young Dominicans, with an avant-garde vision of commerce, started an agricultural project in the fields of the Dominican Republic. In the beginning they were dedicated to planting and harvesting cocoa, avocado, lemon and orange. AMR Agro now exports fruits across the world from the fertile soils of the Dominican Republic.
For more information, visit www.amragro.com
