The business of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables continues to gain ground. Recent statistics from the Food Industry Association attest to this, revealing that fresh-cut fruits and vegetables account for more than 14% of total fresh produce sales.
While the drumbeat of growth presses on, suppliers are faced with quality and regulatory issues in both fresh and fresh-cut produce. One challenge that both suppliers and consumers face is microbial contamination and enzymatic browning.
Lytone Enterprise, inventor of LytoFresh — a postharvest solution for fresh produce — has developed a sanitation formula to tackle the contamination and browning issues, according to a news release.
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“The idea of LytoGreen is to combine antimicrobial and antioxidant function altogether, providing a one-for-all solution to fresh-cut suppliers. The composition is wholly food-grade without residual issues,” Lytone President William Chang said in the release. “It’s been studied on cut apple, peach, cantaloupe, pineapple, lettuce, radish, litchi and multiple tropical fruits with satisfactory results.”
What’s more, microbial contamination on fruits, especially mold growth, is another problem that plagues fresh produce growers, packers, shippers and consumers alike. To tackle this issue, sulfur dioxide in different formulations has been applied to fruit, but inappropriate use of the chemical can create the risk of staff health, environmental contamination and corrosion on machines and facility, according to the release.
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Lytone’s AnsiP-M is a safe and effective alternative to sulfur dioxide, the release said.
“AnsiP-M is specifically designed for berries or tender produce which cannot be washed before packaging. These fruits usually have fungal spores embedded in the skin and will germinate if situation allow,” Chang said.
AnsiP-M was designed control mold spores if they germinate, suppress them from outbreak, thereby maintaining shelf-life to a much longer period, Chang continued.
“Our AnsiP-M is eco-friendly and will not harm machineries and facilities, nor will it create hazard to any staff or labor force nearby,” he said.
Those attending the International Fresh Produce Association’s upcoming Global Produce & Floral Show in Anaheim, Calif., can experience the postharvest products firsthand, as Lytone Enterprise will exhibit at booth No. 4816, according to the release.
