FAST FACTS
Packaging can be used strategically to extend the shelf life of products.
The strategic use of packaging can strengthen brand names.
Pressure is mounting for the use of eco-friendly packaging solutions.
Packaging has always been used to protect, carry and identify products. Today, it is also being used to extend the shelf life of fresh produce and protect it from pathogens.
Initial solutions in the fruit industry focused primarily on packaging design, looking at the size, number, and positioning of ventilation holes to facilitate good air movement and the quick cooling of produce, without compromising packaging strength and integrity. These holes, for example, need to align when packages are stacked on top of one another.
Alwyn van Jaarsveld, head of sales at Tessara, a manufacturer of packaging solutions for the fresh produce industry, says that research has resulted in packages that can shorten the time taken to cool fruit from more than 24 hours to less than 18 hours. This represents major energy savings and improvements in fruit-quality maintenance.
“With Eskom being unable to meet South Africa’s existing energy demands, farmers will struggle to further expand cold storage capacity in line with production expansions. Packaging will become increasingly important as a means of lengthening shelf life and maintaining the cold chain, by enabling farmers to pack directly from the land or accelerate the cooling of fruit to desired temperatures,” says Van Jaarsveld.
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