Major retailers across the UK have adopted the It’s Fresh filter to slow the ripening process of fruit and help produce stay fresh for longer.
The innovation, developed in Milton-Keynes, has been taken on by Tesco, Morrisons, M&S, the Co-op and Waitrose, as well as Walmart, Wegmans and Albertsons-Safeway in the US.
Consisting of a postage-stamp-sized sheet filter, It’s Fresh has been shown to extend the life and quality of fruit by two to four days, allowing retailers to offer customers a better-quality product and reduce waste.
According to Simon Lee, founder of It’s Fresh, "Most major supermarkets are now seeing the benefits of our filters in terms of the savings they make and the added value for customers."
A senior analyst at Rabobank has described the It’s Fresh technology as "a step change for the industry", adding that, "reduction of waste and supply-chain costs are among the most important fresh-produce industry issues".
The technology is currently being used on a wide range of fruit, including berries, peaches, tomatoes, avocados and pears, and operates passively without the need to treat or spray produce with chemicals. It’s Fresh works by absorbing and locking away a gas called ethylene, which fruits emit as they begin to ripen.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
