Recent trials undertaken by Sirane have shown the stunning shelf-life extension that is achievable with Sira-Flex™ Resolve®.
The strawberries which were tested were still ‘perfect’ after seven days – five days past the producer’s suggested shelf-life – and indeed were still very much edible after 13 days. Of equal significance was the fact that the strawberries had absolutely no mould on them when the trials were finished.
Jeremy Haydn-Davies, sales director, said: “The trials are yet more evidence of the astonishing shelf-life extending properties of Sira-Flex™ Resolve®. After seven days the strawberries were absolutely perfect and even after 13 days they could still have been sold with a view to eating them straight away.
“Strawberries are notorious for their short shelf-life, so this could be terrific news for strawberry growers across the world.
“It is also a sign of the incredible properties of the film that there was no mould whatseoever. We are now looking at further, even more extensive, trials.”
The film has been developed to have the optimum balance between humidity control and O2 and CO2 permeability. The permeability is temperature dependant so that the perfect atmosphere is maintained inside the pack even if the storage temperature is variable.
The film is a natural bio-polymer made from plants. It is sustainable and fully compostable. The permeability is controlled by the property of the film itself.
Due to the unique structure of the film material, the permeability to humidity, O2 and CO2 is different in each case. This has allowed Sirane’s team of scientists to balance the permeability of each component to achieve the optimum result.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “This unique structure means we are getting some varied results on shelf-life extension. Because the results are very specific to the conditions, we are finding it difficult to advise on just what the shelf-life extension potential is.
“Where one person might get two days, another might get 10 days, as it depends so heavily on the various factors at play in relation to storage conditions and other variables.
“That is why we just invite people to run trials and assess the benefits for themselves.”
Sira-Flex™ Resolve® will be one of the items on show at Fruit Focus in Kent this week (Wednesday, July 25th). For more information, contact [email protected]
