Food waste is a big issue, and 14% of fresh produce is lost between the harvest and retail. AgroFresh supplies many solutions to help prolong freshness in the post-harvest process and beyond. The company recently announced a partnership with Biotalys, an agricultural technology company. The collaboration aims to develop and commercialize new biological fungicides for post-harvest use.
"At AgroFresh we strive to be the leader in solutions to customers, and one of the major challenges is fungal decay control," explains Dr. Duncan T. Aust, CTO at AgroFresh. "Older chemistries used by the industry are under pressure from legislation, especially in the EU, so we need to find new solutions for when these are phased out."
"Until now most fungicides have not had the strength, or been financially viable for the industry. We have a new approach to using fungicides, and a lot of work has gone into getting the price right for post-harvest treatments. We hope this will be available across the board and not just in high-value segments."
These new solutions are not yet commercially available as Biotalys' technology is unique in fungicides and each of the active agents has to be registered. According to Duncan they are two years away from this in the US and three in Europe. "This is a shame that it takes so long to get new actives registered when the chemistries being used at the moment are to be removed."
At AgroFresh, there are three main drivers of food waste and loss: mechanical and physical damage when harvesting and processing or packing, ripening or over-ripening, and, of course, decay.
"If we can help stop this happening then we can extend the shelf-life. We can also reduce food waste and help our clients produce high-quality fruit."
AgroFresh offers a broad portfolio of products to its customers, covering the process from harvest right up to post-harvest. We provide solutions clearly needed by the customers. Sometimes they come to us with a problem, and if we don't have the solution, we will find it for them. We want to be partners of choice for companies who may have a great product but don't have the resources to take it all the way."
For more information:
Cécile Canivet
AgroFresh
[email protected]
www.agrofresh.com/
*Source: FAO report 29 September 2022 – Tackling food loss and waste: a triple win opportunity