The early 2000’s saw aggressive growth in the market for fresh produce, herbs, and greens grown in Israel. As the food export industry rose to meet the increased demand for fresh produce, Israeli innovators worked to extend the shelf life of the country’s farm-grown products.
THE PROBLEM
Fresh herbs and greens quickly lose their color, taste, and nutritional value as they are transported from farms in Israel, to packaged and transported again to markets and tables in Europe. This loss of quality is attributable to the natural process of decomposition, a process that is accelerated by the build-up of ethylene gas and moisture inside conventional plastic packaging.
THE EXPERIMENT
In response to the need to extend the freshness of exported greens, a study was conducted by Drs. Nehemiah Aharoni and David Koenigsbach, who specializes in the physiology and pathology of herbs and greens and they age the following harvest. The goal of the study was to develop packaging that would maximize the shelf life of these greens.
The experiment simulated the temperature and storage conditions of transporting, packaging, and marketing fresh herbs and greens grown in Israel and consumed in Europe. During the experiment, the gas content of the bag’s gas atmosphere – a combination of carbon dioxide, oxygen, ethylene, and water vapor – was optimized for a variety of popular herbs that are currently exported from Israeli, including rosemary, mint, basil, chives, parsley, and coriander.
OUR SOLUTION
Meet Eco Bag, an attractive, custom-designed produce packaging product that regulates the atmosphere inside, prolonging the freshness of herbs, greens, fruit, and vegetables.
Eco Bag outperforms all of its competitors with:
- Stores a variety of greens
- Humidity controlled to prevent spoilage
- Significantly extends the shelf life of fresh herbs and greens
- Maintains aroma, color, flavor, and texture of fresh produce
- Meets all food health and safety regulations
The bags are made with polyethylene, a material that maintains optimal temperature and airflow as the produce moves through the marketing chain to the customer. The balance and concentration of ethylene gas and oxygen is controlled by micro-perforation and varies according to:
- the type of plant
- the quantity in each bag
- the manner of packaging
- the refrigeration and transport chain
Eco Bag extends product viability in the storage chain by five days. Today Eco Bag’s innovative technology gives exporters the ability to maintain freshness for 13 days or more, including two days at a temperature of 17 degrees on the shelf in the supermarket.
Atifit offers four main models of its herb storage bag:
- White stripe bags for packing mint, dill, parsley, and cilantro
- Black stripe bags for packing chives
- Green stripe bags for packing basil, tarragon, and sage
- Red stripe bags for packing rosemary and thyme
New Ethylene Adsorber
In addition, we have added a highly effective ethylene absorber to our bags. The patented technology further reduces spoilage of perishable greens by removing ethylene gas and moisture from the packaging. The process of adsorption allows the ethylene molecules to form a film on the adsorber, rather than allowing the plant to continue to ripen and rot. The adsorber extends the shelf life of the Eco bag’s contents longer than any packaging currently on the market.
