German retailer Edeka is expanding its 'Apeel' range to include grapefruit and lemon.
The fruits will feature the plant-based protective coating for extended shelf life.
The retailer already offers Apeel-coated avocados, oranges, clementines, and mandarins throughout Germany at Edeka, Marktkauf, and Netto Marken-Discount outlets.
The plant-based edible coating, developed by the California-based Apeel Sciences, was adopted by Edeka after a successful trial.
The product forms a coating over the fruit or vegetable's peel, which slows down the ripening process by allowing less water to evaporate from the inside and less oxygen to penetrates from the outside.
'Second Skin'
Apeel Sciences estimates that this technology can double the shelf life of a product by replicating the barriers put by plants and giving it a 'second skin,' which cuts down on the amount of food wasted in supermarkets.
It is estimated that around 75 kilograms of food per person is wasted in Germany every year, and the retailer hopes that incorporating Apeel technology will lower this number.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
