SOUTH AFRICA – Save Foods, an agri-food tech company specializing in eco crop protection, has announced successful pilot results for a global exporter of blueberries based in South Africa.
The exporter trialed Save Foods’ eco crop protection solution during the 2021-2022 growing season, successfully demonstrating the complete mitigation of mold after seven weeks (at 00C) and the extension of the blueberries’ shelf life by an additional week (at 6-80C).
The results translate into an 8% increase in fruit to sell with less waste to process.
“We are excited to help this critical and expansive market to extend shelf-life, effectively increasing sales and combatting food waste in the process.
“We observed that Save Foods’ eco crop protection treatment consistently preserves the quality of berry varieties, in different geographic regions, and with different growers. We believe this represents confirmation of the effectiveness that our standalone solution provides,” commented Dan Sztybel, CEO of Save Foods’ Israeli subsidiary.
In 2020, the global berry and grape market was estimated at US $826 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2022 to 2027, reaching approximately US $1.2 trillion by 2026, according to Yahoo!finance.
Ziv Ben-Ami, Managing Partner of Auryon Holdings and the representative of Save Foods in South Africa, noted that there is an increasing interest in Save Foods’ technology in South Africa, with more than a dozen active pilots currently underway.
“This successful pilot with blueberries, and the further integration of Save Foods’ treatment in the global food supply chain, continues to strengthen the long-term potential while opening up more and more opportunities and new connections,” he said.
South Africa is among the world’s largest producers of fresh fruit and approximately 90% of the country’s fruit is exported to the international market, reports Perishable News.
One of the most significant challenges of importing and exporting produce is ensuring its quality by the time it reaches its destination.
This challenge is even greater in exporting countries such as South Africa, as the main consumer markets for its produce are distant, requiring fruits to maintain integrity and quality for prolonged periods.
The extended shelf life provided by Save Foods’ eco crop protection treatment offers growers, retailers and consumers a longer window in which to transport, sell, store and consume produce.
Save Foods’ treatments are non-toxic and easy to apply, and they not only extend shelf life, but provide a high level of food safety that benefits consumers.
Earlier in the year, the company teamed up with Auryon Holdings, a strategic advisory and private equity firm in South Africa, to make Save Foods’ green treatment available in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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