After a successful trial with the Hazel 100 fruit treatment in 2021, Spicewood, Texas-based The Fredericksburg Peach Co. has committed to the technology for 2022.
“While trialing Hazel 100, we saw our percentage of rejections go down about 5% at retail,” Frank Davis, president at The Fredericksburg Peach Co., said in a news release. “That’s huge for our bottom line as a provider of locally grown peaches. “Hazel is definitely a technology that we plan and look forward to using going forward.”
Established in 1984 by Davis, The Fredericksburg Peach Co. is a Texas grower and shipper managing over 400 acres of fresh peach production, the release said.
In 2021, Fredericksburg Peach Co. and Hazel Technologies, working with a Texas retailer, completed an eight-week commercial trial that showed Hazel 100-protected peaches were 23% more firm than control after three days in cold storage and three days at ambient temperature, according to the release.
“Retailers are pushing for larger local displays in the fresh produce department to help drive their sales and revenue,” Tommy Caruana, director of business development-retail at Hazel Technologies, said in the release. “Hazel 100’s ability to slow down the ripening process gives retailers firmer fruit to present on their shelves while consumers can have local produce that’s the ideal eating pressure within a day or so of it hitting their kitchen counter. It’s a win-win.”
