Technically Speaking, page-1990

Conventional Practices are Harmful for Fruits and Vegetables

Any closed environment, such as truck trailer, shipping container, warehouses and cold rooms, will have a similar effect resulting in increased concentration of Ethylene.

At the latter part of post-harvest, artificial ripening by using ethylene is general practice as it ensures that the produce reaches the consumers (retail outlets) with a degree of ripeness, which brings out its best in terms of taste, color, texture and nutritional value. One of the most common examples is the ‘forced’ ripening of bananas during high demand periods.

However these conventional methods adopted by most warehouses and cold stores of lowering the temperature and humidity and using gases like nitrogen and sulphur increase the shelf life but have several disadvantages.

It uses toxic gasesIt is dangerous for human healthIt changes the natural properties of fruit as well

Refrigeration and humidity control slows decay but is not enough to halt the production of ethylene gas in cold stores and warehouse. Even small amount of ethylene gas during storage is enough to hasten the process of decay of fresh produce. This makes ethylene control absolutely necessary in the cold chain.

Why Ethylene Control!!!

Advantage of Ethylene Control

Extends the life cycle of the fruit/ vegetable after pluckingWarehouse owners can easily preserve freshness and reduces spoilage of fruits and vegetablesThey are able to meet increasing demands of non-seasonal fruits and vegetables

Ethylene Control – Applications

The three main application areas are:

controlled atmosphere storagefruit/vegetables ripening roomsshipping / transportation of the horticultural produce

These are described briefly in the following.

Controlled Atmosphere Storage (CA) – The concept of controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of horticultural products is based on the control of two major factors affecting plant aging

reduction of respiration rates duringdelay of ethylene-triggered changes leading to senescence.

CA storage involves the use of:

increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂)decreased levels of oxygen (O₂) in the atmospherelow storage temperatures and lastlypreventing of the buildup of internally-generated ethylene to threshold levels which could trigger changes leading to senescence and death

Controlling ethylene gas will maintain the quality and extend the life of horticultural products, allowing them to be stored for a much longer period of time. While refrigeration and humidity control will slow ripening and decay, they will not halt ethylene control.

Ripening Rooms – The general practice is picking Fruits and vegetables when it is “green” so that there is ample time between harvesting and distribution. The “green” produce is allowed to ripen – some naturally, but much is helped along by exposure to elevated levels of ethylene. However it is necessary to ensure the following:

Ripening rooms in buildings separate from traditional cold storage buildings or CA storageIf the ripening room must be located in the storage area, several precautions should be taken:Ethylene should by vented from the ripening room to the outside after the exposure period is

However because of temperature and humidity concerns, makeup (dilution) air is typically drawn from the refrigerated area surrounding the ripening room. Even after venting, the ethylene levels may still be high enough to continue the ripening process and cause damage to product. Thus a “re-circulating air scrubber (Air & Gas Purification System)”, with a special media should be employed to reduce the ethylene concentration below threshold levels.

Shipping of Produce – Even small amounts of ethylene gas during shipping and storage causes fresh produce to deteriorate faster.

The Solution

Controlling ethylene levels preserves freshness

The latest technology from Bry-Air, EcoScrub Air & Gas Purification System extends shelf life, minimizes loss due to decay, ensures off season availability and eliminates harmful preservation practices that use Nitrogen and Sulphur gas. Fruits and vegetables retain their “naturalness: These can be ripened as per demand without bearing traces of toxic gases.


looks expensive!!!

So you are probably wondering why I have posted this article? Well i found it interesting that our man Chuck has recently updated his linkedin profile and i notice this.

"Australian founded and Detroit based R&D organization with global patent pending technology for purifying and sanitizing air, water and surfaces in residential, commercial and industrial application. Technology eliminates VOC, viruses, bacteria, mold, odors, allergens, Ethylene, utilizing a new to the world approach called "streamer plasma".

haven't found much on the "streamer plasma" yet but we have discussed that they were looking at different uses for the FRG, is this one of them? We have already thought that the food side of things was a possibility but do we have the rights to this? Well I can't find any other reason to try and rid the environment of Ethylene, and Chuck doesn't work for Somnio he is Purifloh only. So is this the other use that has been mentioned by PO3 in the past?

Any thoughts welcome and any ideas on the Streamer Plasma also welcome....

(if they won't give us any news, we'll just have to find it ourselves!!!!)