RipeLocker Shares Results From USDA Disinfection Trials; George Lobisser and Spencer Walse Comment
SEATTLE, WA - Extending the shelf-life of fresh produce is always on the brain for both the buy- and supply-sides, and industry partners like RipeLocker help to accomplish that goal. Disinfestation trials are currently being conducted by the company’s research partners in the United States and Australia, aiming to eliminate invasive fruit flies without the application of postharvest fumigants such as methyl bromide or required cold treatments at the port of loading.
“Six days might not sound like a long time, but for highly perishable items like blueberries, table grapes, and cherries, adding six days to the time it takes to get the fruit to market is an eternity,” said George Lobisser, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RipeLocker, commenting on the pre-export quarantine.
According to a press release, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been searching for a chemical-free alternative to reduce the time highly perishable items must remain at the port of loading for quarantine before being exported. Successful trial results have been seen at the USDA ARS research lab in Parlier, California. This trial is testing the efficacy of RipeLocker’s hypobaric system as a solution for control of Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD) on blueberries.
The results of the trial could allow for a grower-packer-shipper to immediately ship their fruit to the port of entry without the extra six-day cold treatment inside the packing house or at the port if this fruit is being transported via the RipeLocker.
“This low-pressure vacuum technology is a game-changer in the fight against SWD infesting fresh fruit,” Dr. Spencer Walse, Research Chemist in USDA ARS’s Commodity Protection and Quality Research Unit, said. “We’ve achieved 100 percent kill of all life stages of SWD when infested blueberries were stored in the RipeLockers for just six days.”
In addition to this news, New South Wales Primary Industries fruit fly research laboratory in Australia has received the RipeLocker system and will soon conduct fruit fly postharvest disinfestation trials.
We at ANUK are always on the lookout for fresh-extending innovations, so stick with us.
