Kiwi Packaging Provides Outstanding Shelf Life Results For Fresh Cherries

Fresh Australasian-grown cherries could soon be regularly sea freighted to the Middle East and Europe thanks to an innovative new packaging film, which keeps them in perfect condition for up to 11 weeks.

President of the Western Australian Cherry Growers Association, Max Arif, trialled the custom designed re~fresh modified atmosphere cherry packaging last season and is expecting it to revolutionise the Australasian export cherry market. He claims cherries kept in the packaging in controlled conditions for over two months astounded international buyers with their quality and freshness, and prompted several requests for sea freighted produce, including a trial order from Holland.

Max, who also sits on the National Executive of Cherry Growers in Australia, is excited about the extra export earning potential provided by the new long-life packaging. He says, "We took samples of cherries we packed in December to Dubai in February and the buyers just couldn’t believe that the cherries we had were just as fresh as the ones they had that were picked just days before. Our fruit was still firm, the stems were still green right through, and they tasted like they had just come straight off the tree".

Even on April 2nd, when Max took samples to the Cherry Growers Australia WA Branch AGM, he states, "The cherries were still firm, the gloss was still on them and they were still just as crunchy as when we first packed them at Manjimup on December 31st."

According to Max, the ability to sea freight fresh cherries will save most growers over $4 a kilo in freight costs and open up huge export opportunities in cherry-hungry markets, like the Middle East and Europe.

Over the past several years Max has carried out extensive packaging trials with multiple film structures to achieve the quality and shelf life required for export sea freighting and says, "The re~fresh bags are the only ones that can deliver this kind of result. They also work very well with apricots, which will allow me to fill a shipping container up with more than one type of fruit."

Manufactured by Hamilton-Based Convex Plastics, re~fresh films are custom designed utilising sophisticated computer modelling to match the respiration, ethylene sensitivity and expected outside storage temperature and humidity of the intended packaged produce. The resulting film structure manipulates the amount of O2 and CO2 contained within the packaging, and thus enables the produce to live longer by delaying the ripening process and reducing ethylene production.

Along with providing proven results for cherries and apricots, Convex Plastics’ life extension films have also significantly reduced spoilage in export Mangoes in the Philippines, and can be found in almost all leading supermarkets in Australasia packing everything from mixed salads and stir fry mixes, to fresh herbs, shredded lettuce and carrots.