Blueberries – RipeLocker

From Roses to Fresh Hops, RipeLocker can Double the Shelf-Life of Some High-Value Crops

Selynn Vong — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 22:16:09 +0000

From edible coatings and ethylene scavengers to modified atmosphere packaging, irradiation and cold plasma, there are multiple ways to extend the shelf-life of perishables, each with their pros and cons, says RipeLocker, which has a novel approach it claims can double the shelf-life of some high-value crops.

Cofounded by George Lobisser and his son Kyle in 2016, the Seattle-based startup has developed patented, re-usable, portable low-atmosphere chambers it claims can significantly extend the post-harvest life of everything from blueberries, kiwifruit, cherries, and walnuts to roses by creating a near-vacuum or ultra-low oxygen environment.

The approach, which reduces respiration by more than 50% on average, can help growers switch from air freight to ocean freight, reduce losses due to decay and pathogen control, achieve higher grading of fruit (with a higher price tag), and store fruit to enable sales during late season premium price windows, VP sales Julian Lewis (JL), tells AgFunderNews (AFN).

But as with any new technology, he says, there are barriers to uptake if your solution requires users to modify their current approaches: “We’re working with operators that are happy to disrupt and do things differently for better results.”

Image credit: RipeLocker

***AFN*: What’s the origins story of RipeLocker?**

JL: George ran [fresh produce preservation firm] Pace International for a number of years, turned it around and sold it Valent BioSciences [part of Sumitomo] in 2012 [it has since been acquired by AgroFresh]. But he always had this lingering frustration about the poor quality of produce by the time it reaches the consumer. When you get products out of controlled atmosphere storage, the quality can be fantastic, but by the time they get to the retail shelf, you don’t always get the best quality.

So it was a case of how can you make that controlled atmosphere room portable? So he played around with a lot of different technologies and hit upon vacuum storage. This has been used for giant reefer-sized containers that cost tens of millions, but he wanted to create something mobile and economic.

***AFN*: So how does the technology work?**

JL: George’s son, who was a design engineer, worked with his father to design the RipeLocker. It’s been through many iterations, but we now have this chamber where basically, you put fresh produce in it, you pump it down [suck out the air to create a near-vacuum], and you can dynamically control the oxygen and CO2 levels inside.

Any kind of produce is likely to be an aerobic system that consumes oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide, and depending on what the produce is, we’ll very closely maintain that level dynamically, at the point that keeps it aerobic, but only just… and so it’s not quite a vacuum. We maintain the atmosphere at a level that’s tailor made for blueberries or avocados or whatever the produce type is and basically put it to sleep.

The act of doing that slows decay and senescence, although some products respond better than others, particularly blueberries. Recently, we worked with a breeder and brought some berries to an IFPA [International Fresh Produce Association] show that were over 100 days old, and they were in very, very good condition.

We’re very active in blueberries, cherries, flowers, so things like roses from Colombia going to the US. We’re also testing soft fruits such as raspberries and blackberries as well as avocados, mangoes, and pomegranates.

RipeLocker is working with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Hilo, Hawaii to optimize low pressure storage on various highly perishable tropical fruits. Image credit: RipeLocker

***AFN*: How does your tech compare to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)?**

JL: No nitrogen is pumped into our system; all we do is pump air in and out. MAP can be a great solution but vacuum storage can offer significant benefits in terms of senescence suppression and ultimately shelf-life. We don’t generally compare the technologies as they both have their own role to play, but as an illustration, for blueberries, MAP bags can typically store them for three to four weeks, while the RipeLocker can store them for eight weeks and in some cases 12+ weeks.

For cherries, MAP bags can typically store them for four weeks, while the RipeLocker has had great results at eight weeks. Finally for whole pomegranates, controlled atmosphere rooms and MAP will store them for one to two months, whereas the RipeLocker can store them for more than four months.

Generally, MAP systems can take between one to two weeks to build up the optimal storage atmosphere as they are a passive system relying on the respiration of the fruit. In fact, the ‘optimal’ conditions may never be fully achieved. The RipeLocker achieves the optimal conditions within hours due to the use of a vacuum pump.

RipeLocker can achieve lower oxygen and/or higher carbon dioxide levels that are optimal for senescence control than passive controlled atmosphere or MAP technologies without inducing fermentation [ie. switching to an anaerobic environment], low-oxygen injury or carbon dioxide damage.

Basically, in a vacuum, or rather an ultra-low oxygen environment, respiration of the fruit is still enabled with very few oxygen molecules in a low-pressure environment, but it also means we can enable much higher carbon dioxide levels which can also control senescence and inhibit ethylene action in some crops [ethylene is a plant hormone that fruit & veg produce naturally as they ripen].

Due to this environment, ethylene biosynthesis can be inhibited, delaying ripening, while fungal pathogens are also suppressed; we have also been able to kill insects with this environment.

“There’s a particularly exciting opportunity in fresh hops. It’s a little-known fact that 44% of the world’s hops are grown in Washington and Oregon. But fresh hops are only good for 24 hours. We’re able to store fresh hops for 60 days.” Image credit: RipeLocker

***AFN*: How does RipeLocker compare to tech that applies coatings to produce?**

JL: The appeal of the RipeLocker is that it can eliminate some of these coatings, either partially or entirely, depending on the produce.

As for nutrition, we also know that riper fruit is more nutritious and the RipeLocker enables producers to pick riper fruit and store them without the use of chemicals, so there is the potential to deliver more nutritious produce.

***AFN*: How do you handle temperature fluctuations and humidity?**

JL: We are literally pumping air out of the chamber like a vacuum cleaner and any moisture that comes off the fruits is vaporized in the low-pressure environment thus maintaining 100% relative humidity. The other good thing about storage is that there’s zero weight loss or moisture loss from what’s stored because it’s a fully sealed system.

In fact, we have instances of berries actually gaining weight. As for temperature, the control system is constantly monitoring and managing the environment inside the chamber to allow adaptations to unforeseen and undesirable ‘excursions;’ this is something that passive systems cannot do.

***AFN*: How does the system know if adjustments to the atmosphere are needed?**

JL: There are sensors in the control system, and generally one control unit manages 20 chambers.

***AFN*: What’s the business case for the user?**

JL: There are multiple benefits which include the ability to move from air freight to ocean freight, reduce losses in transit, reduce losses due to decay and pathogen control, achieve higher grading of fruit – and therefore the ability to receive higher prices, and also store fruit to enable sales during late season premium price windows.

In the floral industry, we are even enabling growers to store and sell early blooms in peak season. Normally, these early blooms are trashed. RipeLocker has literally turned waste into profits.

The flower industry is super interesting. So almost all the roses in the US come from Colombia or Ecuador. The big peak is Valentine’s Day, so roses aren’t worth much in December, but they’re worth a lot in February.

And so any roses that are blooming in December, they cut, it’s called pinching, and they throw them away. They then hope that that rose bush grows again and produces a perfect rose for Valentine’s Day. As we can store roses for six weeks in a RipeLocker, we can store the roses they’re cutting in December, so we can create new inventory that previously was trash.

Our customers are buying RipeLockers to reduce cost or increase revenue, or both.

Take air freight. For [German discount retailer] Lidl in Europe, for example, they are basically saying that in the future, they won’t want to produce that’s air freighted because it’s bad for the environment, so some journeys will become impossible. So if you want to get fresh produce from Latin America to Europe and the product can’t survive an ocean journey, you’re going to lose your access to Lidl, and I’m sure other European retailers will follow suit.

In a RipeLocker, you can literally take the slow boat. So we’re working with growers in South America that cannot get their product from Latin America to China because the ocean journey takes too long for their products. We’re doing the same with companies supplying products from Latin America to Europe.

In other situations, quarantine requirements mean you’ve got to store product in a cold environment for a certain period, which might be too much for your product. In a RipeLocker, it could survive.

Roses can be stored for six weeks in a RipeLocker. Image credit: RipeLocker

***AFN*: How easy is the system to use?**

JL: You take the top off and put your produce inside. If you’re handling something quite robust like an avocado, you can put them in in bulk. If it’s something softer like a blueberry, we have trays and a tray stacker. Then you’ve got a controller connected by hoses to the RipeLockers and you pop the lids on and pump everything down [to create a near-vacuum].

The system is designed to work in stationary storage applications and in transit. We’ve sized the chambers so they can go into a shipping container, so there’s 39 chambers in a container and then the control system will go in there with the chambers. When reefers [refrigerated trucks] go into ships, they have power to drive the chilling of the reefer that can also drive the power of our units. And so we can have very long ocean journeys, let’s say from Latin America to China or to Europe, and this dynamic control continues.

There’s a particularly exciting opportunity in fresh hops. Beer is traditionally brewed with dry hops but with all of these micro-breweries, demand for fresh hops has increased. It’s a little-known fact that 44% of the world’s hops are grown in Washington and Oregon. But fresh hops are only good for 24 hours. We’re able to store fresh hops for 60 days.

***AFN*: What IP do you have?**

JL: We’ve got three patents. One for the engineering design, creating a chamber that can withstand a vacuum with a lot of pressure from the outside. There’s then a patent around the dynamic operating system, so what are the settings for blueberries versus avocados versus pineapple and so on and how do we get dynamically control that?

And then finally we’re collecting data constantly and using that to build predictive analysis so we can start to predict when the fruits will reach optimum ripeness. With some fruits, maybe because the way they were loaded wasn’t optimal, or maybe it was rainy at harvest time, we can go to the customer and say, ‘You need to open chamber # 26 now.’ So we can tell a customer in real time what’s happening to their fruit, and so we’ve got a patent around that.

***AFN*: What’s the business model?**

JL: If you’re going to use RipeLockers year-round, it makes sense to buy them. So for example, we’re working with some of the world’s largest walnut growers, and they’ve stored walnuts for two years in a RipeLocker and they came out in perfect condition.

Similarly, we’re working with tomato growers who only need to hold tomatoes for two weeks, but they are growing year-round, so it makes sense to buy the RipeLockers.

But for blueberry growers in the Pacific Northwest, which have a six-week season, a leasing model makes more sense. So in peak harvest season, the price can be very low, whereas at the end of the season if there’s not many blueberries around, the price goes crazy.

If you can store your blueberries and have them available at the end of the season, you’re going to do very well. But they’re only going to need them for six weeks, so in that instance we will lease the equipment for a fixed fee.

***AFN*: Is the RipeLocker system designed to work only with produce that’s in the cold chain?**

JL: We deliberately didn’t design chilling into the chamber. Typically the RipeLocker goes in a chilled warehouse or chilled shipping container. However, there are some instances where chilling is not required. The vacuum works so well with walnuts, for example, that if they are in a RipeLocker they don’t need to be chilled, so we’re actually saving the industry the cost of chilling.

***AFN*: What are some of the challenges and barriers to uptake?**

JL: We’ve been in commercial use for the last two to three years and this season we’re working extensively with blueberries, fresh hops, and roses. Our commercial progress so far is in stationary storage because it’s the simplest to deploy.

But our original vision was all about a mobile solution, which is logistically more complex [moving the RipeLockers in groups attached to the controller and hoses]. It’s not enormously complex, it’s just an added step, but we don’t hide the fact that using RipeLocker will disrupt your process. So we’re working with operators that are happy to disrupt and do things differently for better results.

I’d say the biggest barrier to progress is the same [for any agtech company seeking to disrupt an existing supply chain]. If you’re talking to established businesses, even those that might have sub optimal aspects of their process, what’s the motivation to change? So part of my role as the business development guy is to find not only big global players, but ones that have that challenger disruptive mindset.

***AFN*: How have you funded the company?**

JL: We’ve funded it thus far through angel investors, basically industry figures who are ag players themselves, and we aim to seek further funding and extend our investor network in the near future.

***AFN*: What progress have you made to date?**

JL: We are currently working with one of the world’s largest growers of berries. We have trials underway in multiple global geographies with multiple commodities. As a result, we hope to make an exciting partnership announcement in the coming weeks.

Another partner is The Queen’s Flowers, one of the largest US importers of fresh roses. The company recently completed a very successful Valentine’s Day campaign using mass storage of roses in RipeLockers in Miami to ensure they could build inventory and offer their customer superior vase life. We will begin our Mother’s Day campaign with them in early April.

We have also agreed an extensive blueberry storage campaign for this summer with multiple Pacific Northwest growers including close partner, Oasis Farms.

Written by: Elaine Watson, AgFunder News

Berries on Hold

Selynn Vong — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 23:29:22 +0000

Low-pressure storage chambers extend blueberry storage six weeks for Washington farm.

By Kate Prengaman

As the global blueberry industry develops into a year-round market, gaps still pop up. Filling them can be highly lucrative, as Oasis Farms in Prosser, Washington, found out last season, with the help of a new postharvest storage technology. “It was a great year to have fruit in storage,” said Brenton Roy, owner of Oasis Farms. “We felt like the packouts were indistinguishable to being packed immediately.”

His team put 20,000 pounds of blueberries into low-pressure controlled-atmosphere chambers known as RipeLockers at harvest in July. Six weeks later, the fruit sold for premium prices in September, as a difficult growing season in Peru reduced the fall fruit available in the U.S. market.

“In hindsight, I wish we had done more,” said Chad Don, Oasis’ blueberry program manager. “It depends on how the market is doing, but (with the technology) we can move a large volume of fruit out of the peak to a later part of the year.”

Don said the RipeLocker technology can protect the blueberry quality about twice as long as modified atmosphere bags, up to eight weeks, and the continuous monitoring reduces the risk involved in storing perishable produce.

Each individual chamber, sized for pallet-friendly transport, has its own oxygen, carbon dioxide and pressure sensors, which the company tracks and adjusts remotely.

“If I see the respiration going really high, if I can see the fruit senescing, we alert the grower, who can decide to sell it now or give it more slack,” in the form of increased oxygen to see if the fruit stabilizes, said Brendon Anthony, RipeLocker’s senior director of fruit sciences.

Anthony describes the technology as low-pressure storage that’s created by pumping out air, which reduces oxygen levels to slow down respiration. The sensors enable dynamic control of the storage environment to optimize it for each load of fruit. Also known as hypobaric storage, it is not a new concept in research, but RipeLocker’s patented chamber design makes it possible on a commercial scale. The approach maintains humidity levels and supports rapid gas diffusion. The conditions also serve to control decay and insect pests, which also need oxygen.

Seattle-based RipeLocker was founded in 2016 by George Lobisser, the former CEO of Pace International. Over the past few years, the company has conducted trials with many perishable produce products, from berries to blossoms, to dial in storage specifics and learn where market opportunities could make the technology valuable, said marketing director Selynn Vong.

Anthony said commercial demos with peaches are planned for this season, while research into cherry storage is ongoing.

“We have good success keeping stems green and maintaining weight and firmness,” he said about the cherries, “(but) strategies to maintain stems is not always what you want to maintain fruit quality.”

In blueberries, the technology ensures fruit maintains weight and firmness, so berries are still crunchy up to eight weeks later, Anthony said.

The floral industry is their biggest customer so far, Vong said. As commercial use grows, RipeLocker expects to see the technology travel the global supply chain.

“Shipping blueberries on a boat rather than a plane has 47 times less carbon emissions,” she said, and a far lower cost. “RipeLocker buys you time to do that.”

But the company needs to cost-effectively bring the chambers back, too.

Customers typically rent the chambers for the storage period they need, along with the monitoring service. Some year-round producers, such as the floral industry, opt to purchase, Vong said. She declined to offer pricing specifics, saying that the company offers “zero-risk revenue-sharing arrangements for various commodities.”

At Oasis, there is both a cost to the technology and the additional labor to use it, Don said.

“There’s no change in the field from the harvest perspective,” he said. “It’s another whole process when we are running fruit in the facility.”

The pie-wedge trays pose no problem in the field, where workers fill up the chambers directly. Oasis then cools and seals them. The challenge arrives when packing the fruit: Each triangular tray must be dumped into the packing line by hand, as opposed to the automatic system used for their typical rectangular trays.

Oasis learned about the technology in 2020 and first started testing in 2021. It also uses RipeLockers to ship fresh hops to brewers across the country. Roy was so intrigued he decided to invest and now sits on the board of directors as well.

“It’s a fundamental change in how well we can store things,” he said. “It’s an ag tech startup; I think the future is yet to be written on the value that can be brought by storing things at a higher quality, and we are just at the beginning of figuring that out.” #

Oasis Farms, Inc. Sells Entire Supply of Blueberries Stored in RipeLockers to High-End Retailer Seeking Quality Fruit during the Blueberry Shortage

Selynn Vong — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 16:33:59 +0000

Seattle, WA—October 9, 2023 — Demand for blueberries stayed high, but the supply of quality blueberries was at an all-time low after the Pacific Northwest harvest season ended in late summer. The anticipated volumes from South America did not arrive as expected to fill the gap. Reports revealed that this shortage was due to the adverse effects of El Niño in Peru, bringing hotter temperatures which affected production volumes. This resulted in a dramatic 64% decline in exports of blueberries from Peru into the United States as compared to the corresponding period last year.

Having used RipeLockers for season extension of their blueberries in the past, Washington blueberry grower Oasis Farms, Inc. in Prosser, Washington benefited greatly this year by being able to sell their entire supply stored in the chambers to a high-end retailer searching for inventory to fill their shelves. RipeLockers not only held blueberries in premium condition but also helped to sustain and increase the grower’s margins outside of their normal selling season, fetching a much higher price per pound.

Though an unfortunate situation – the shortage of blueberries this year created a huge opportunity to demonstrate the value of RipeLocker’s patented postharvest technology for growers to store and extend the season of quality fruit to provide inventory to retailers for longer periods.

“This was a win-win situation. Oasis was able to season extend high-quality shipments which greatly benefited the customer, Oasis, and ultimately the consumer. Today’s produce world is extremely dynamic and subsequently difficult to accurately predict. The supply chain needs every tool possible to adapt to a rapidly changing market environment. RipeLocker is one of those tools and has the potential to be game-changing,” exclaims Brenton Roy, President of Oasis Farms, Inc.

‘Game Changer’ Found for Spotted Wing Drosophila Control in Blueberries

Selynn Vong — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 17:00:11 +0000

Parlier, CA, November 15, 2022 – USDA-ARS researchers evaluating the efficacy of a hypobaric system as a solution to control spotted wing drosophila (SWD) on blueberries have found they can achieve 100% kill in less than a week. USDA has been searching for a chemical-free alternative to reduce the time highly perishable items must remain at the port of loading for quarantine before being exported. Dr. Spencer Walse, Research Chemist in USDA-ARS’ Commodity Protection and Quality Research Unit in Parlier, CA, says the recent development, by RipeLocker of Bainbridge Island, WA, has huge ramifications.

Ultimately these results could allow for grower/packer/shippers to immediately ship their fruit to the port of entry without the extra six-day cold treatment inside the packing house or at the port if this fruit is being transported via the RipeLocker, Walse says.

“This low-pressure vacuum technology is a game changer in the fight against SWD infesting fresh fruit,” he says. “We’ve achieved 100% kill of all life stages of SWD when infested blueberries were stored in the RipeLockers for just six days.”

“Six days might not sound like a long time, but for highly perishable items like blueberries, table grapes, and cherries, adding six days to the time it takes to get the fruit to market is an eternity,” says George Lobisser, Co-Founder and CEO of RipeLocker.

To further test RipeLocker’s technology overseas, New South Wales Primary Industries’ fruit fly research laboratory in Australia has received the RipeLocker system and will soon conduct fruit fly postharvest disinfestation trials.

FINDING CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS

Walse focuses on solving chemically based problems in agriculture. His research involves the development and integration of predictive chemical kinetics, modeling strategies, and field/in situ results as they relate to quantitatively understanding the interaction of molecules with their surroundings.

“We look at molecules that are produced naturally,” he says, “as well as those that are produced by man, anthropogenically.”

Walse says their mission is to develop safe and effective alternative chemical and non-chemical treatments to replace methyl bromide use on horticultural stored products to meet quarantine and phytosanitary needs and to preserve or extend domestic and export markets. Their work emphasizes postharvest and chamber fumigation to protect and expand the domestic and foreign distribution of U.S.-grown durable and perishable food commodities.

RipeLocker broadens the use of its innovative system for senescence control and decay suppressant of perishables to eliminate invasive fruit flies without the application of postharvest fumigants, such as methyl bromide or required cold treatments at the port of loading.

Disinfestation trials are being conducted by RipeLocker’s research partners both in the U.S. and Australia to control these pests and eliminate their development and reproduction while being stored inside the RipeLockers.

HOW IT WORKS

RipeLocker chambers offer a unique patented system to manage atmospheric pressure and gas composition (oxygen and CO2) within the chambers to extend the life of fresh produce and flowers. Based on the specific needs of each type of fresh produce or flower, RipeLocker tailors operating parameters, such as internal pressure, oxygen, and CO2 levels, to optimize longevity and freshness. The system continuously reports operating data enabling real-time decision-making to senescence and decay.

RipeLocker designed its pallet-sized chambers so they can easily be deployed and used in the existing cold chain. Produced using novel materials and highly scalable manufacturing processes, the RipeLocker chamber is the first solution that can be delivered cost-effectively in mass volume. RipeLocker has patents on both chamber design and method of operation.

RipeLocker, founded in 2016, is a science-based and data-driven company. It continues to conduct efficacy trials of its RipeLocker chambers for a variety of different crops with the largest growers in the world.

Written by David Eddy, Growing Produce/American Fruit Grower News

Click here for full article in Growing Produce/American Fruit Grower News

Promising Results in USDA Disinfestation Trials Using RipeLockers to Control Spotted-Wing Drosophila

Selynn Vong — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 12:48:28 +0000

Seattle, WA, September 6, 2022 – RipeLocker broadens the use of its innovative system for senescence control and decay suppressant of perishables, to eliminate invasive fruit flies without the application of postharvest fumigants such as methyl bromide or required cold treatments at the port of loading.

Disinfestation trials are being conducted by RipeLocker’s research partners in the United States and Australia to control these pests and eliminate their development and reproduction while being stored inside the RipeLockers.

The USDA has been searching for a chemical-free alternative to reduce the time highly perishable items must remain at the port of loading for quarantine before being exported. Successful trial results have been seen at the USDA ARS research lab in Parlier, CA testing the efficacy of RipeLocker’s hypobaric system as a solution for control of Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD) on blueberries.

Dr. Spencer Walse, Research Chemist in USDA ARS’s Commodity Protection and Quality Research Unit exclaims, “This low-pressure vacuum technology is a game-changer in the fight against SWD infesting fresh fruit. We’ve achieved 100% kill of all life stages of SWD when infested blueberries were stored in the RipeLockers for just 6 days.”

“Six days might not sound like a long time but for highly perishable items like blueberries, table grapes, and cherries, adding six days to the time it takes to get the fruit to market is an eternity,” said George Lobisser, Co-Founder & CEO of RipeLocker.

Ultimately these results could allow for a grower/packer/shipper to immediately ship their fruit to the port of entry without the extra 6-day cold treatment inside the packing house or at the port if this fruit is being transported via the RipeLocker.

To further test RipeLocker’s technology overseas, New South Wales Primary Industries fruit fly research laboratory in Australia has received the RipeLocker system and will soon conduct fruit fly postharvest disinfestation trials.

The Technology Behind RipeLocker Chambers

RipeLocker chambers offer a unique, patented system to manage the atmospheric pressure, and gas composition (oxygen and CO2) within the chambers to extend the life of fresh produce and flowers. Based on the specific needs of each type of fresh produce or flower, RipeLocker tailors operating parameters, such as internal pressure, oxygen, and CO2 levels, to optimize longevity and freshness. The system continuously reports operating data enabling real-time decision-making to senescence and decay.

RipeLocker designed its pallet-sized chambers so that they can easily be deployed and used in the existing cold chain. Produced using novel materials and highly scalable manufacturing processes, the RipeLocker chamber is the first solution that can be delivered cost-effectively in mass volume. RipeLocker has patents on both chamber design and method of operation.

About RipeLocker

RipeLocker has patented a radical innovation designed to disrupt existing postharvest technologies and processes of preserving the life and freshness of perishables. The company’s dynamic, low-atmosphere chambers are used for storing and shipping fresh produce and flowers to extend their after-harvest life by weeks, often months. When RipeLocker chambers are used, shippers and retailers reduce food loss and consumers benefit from a better taste and longer shelf-life. RipeLocker, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, WA, US, is a science-based and data-driven company. It continues to conduct efficacy trials of its RipeLocker chambers for a variety of different crops with the largest growers in the world. For more information, go to www.ripelocker.com.

About USDA, Agricultural Research Service, SJVASC

The Fumigation and Chemistry Group of the Commodity Protection and Quality Research Unit of USDA, Agricultural Research Service, SJVASC is in Parlier, CA. Their mission is to develop safe and effective, alternative chemical and non-chemical treatments to replace methyl bromide use on horticultural stored products to meet quarantine and phytosanitary needs and to preserve or extend domestic and export markets. Their work emphasizes postharvest, and chamber fumigation to protect and expand the domestic and foreign distribution of U.S.-grown durable and perishable food commodities. For more information, go to: https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/parlier/sjvasc/cpq/.

Sorbatto Fresh to Scale Up RipeLocker Container Use – RipeLocker Containers Created Value from Otherwise Wasted Fruit

Selynn Vong — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 18:03:37 +0000

Seattle, WA—January 24, 2022— RipeLocker, an innovator in extending the postharvest life of perishables ramps up commercial sales of its containers to Sorbatto Fresh (formerly Blueberry Hill), an early adopter of the technology.

As a heatwave hit Eastern Washington over the summer, it effected the blueberry harvest and flooded the market with fruit that yielded lower than normal prices. Growers were faced with either selling their crop at a discount immediately or dumping their fruit into the processor market.

“2021 was a very challenging season for us,” exclaimed Jeff Weijohn, owner of Sorbatto Fresh a grower in Yakima, WA. “The heat wave not only affected fruit quality, but also caused the market to collapse during the high production season. Using the RipeLockers allowed us to ride out the turbulent market by storing fruit that would have gone to waste. The fruit that came out of the RipeLocker’s not only retained its quality but was able to be sold at a much higher price two months later when the market recovered. Due to this extended season’s success, we are excited to commit to a week’s worth of process capacity in RipeLockers next year.”

By using RipeLocker containers, Sorbatto Fresh greatly extended its normal selling season to sustain and increase their margins. The benefits of RipeLocker’s patented postharvest technology creates value to growers and retailers in providing consumers with quality fruit for longer periods of time.

Sorbatto Fresh plans to use the RipeLocker containers it leases to store its blueberries and potentially other perishables in the future. The company endeavors to scale up to between 500 and 600 containers for next season.

The Technology Behind RipeLocker Containers

RipeLocker containers offer a unique, patented system to manage the atmospheric pressure, humidity, and gas composition (oxygen and CO2) within the containers to extend the life of fresh produce and flowers. Based on the specific needs of each type of fresh produce or flower, RipeLocker tailors operating parameters, such as internal pressure, oxygen, and CO2 levels, to optimize the longevity and freshness. The system responds to changes in the storage or shipping environment, making automatic precise adjustments to prevent damage and reduce decay.

RipeLocker designed its pallet-sized containers so that they can easily be deployed and used in the existing cold chain. Produced using novel materials and highly scalable manufacturing processes, the RipeLocker container is the first solution that can be delivered cost effectively in mass volume. RipeLocker has patents on both the container design and method of operation.

About RipeLocker
RipeLocker has patented a radical innovation designed to disrupt and change the existing postharvest technologies and processes of preserving the life and freshness of perishables. The company’s dynamic, low-atmosphere containers are used for storing and shipping fresh produce and flowers to extend their after-harvest life by weeks, often months. When RipeLocker containers are used, shippers and retailers reduce food waste and consumers benefit from a better taste and longer shelf-life. RipeLocker, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, WA, US, is a science-based and data-driven company. It continues to conduct efficacy trials of its RipeLocker containers for a variety of different crops with the largest growers in the world. For more information, go to www.ripelocker.com

Websites of companies mentioned in this news release:

RipeLocker: https://www.ripelocker.com
Sorbatto Fresh: https://www.sorbatto.com/

# # #

For More Information:

RipeLocker Containers Hold Freshly Harvested Organic Blueberries in Pristine Condition for Eight Weeks

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 15:30:04 +0000

Efficacy Trials Recently Completed with Blueberry Hill; RipeLocker Containers Available for Commercial Use this Summer

Seattle, WA—January 13, 2021— RipeLocker, a leader in extending the post-harvest life of perishables, today announced its RipeLocker containers recently held freshly harvested organic blueberries in pristine condition for eight weeks. In the trial, the company used six of its pallet-size RipeLocker containers to store fresh organic blueberries from Blueberry Hill. Based on the strong results, Blueberry Hill plans to lease commercial RipeLocker containers this summer.

In addition to growing its own blueberries, Blueberry Hill owns Sorbatto Fresh, a packing and storing facility for 20 blueberry growers in Washington State. About 90% of the blueberries managed by Sorbatto Fresh are organic. By using RipeLocker containers, Blueberry Hill can greatly extend its normal selling season for blueberries, increase margins and provide higher quality for longer periods of time to its many customers. Retailers and consumers gain better eating quality berries with longer shelf-life.

The patented, dynamic, low-atmosphere RipeLocker containers are used for storing and shipping fresh produce and flowers, and extend the post-harvest life by weeks, often months. They are pallet-size, made from recycled materials and are reusable. RipeLocker containers are leased to customers on an annual basis and the realized returns far exceed the cost of the lease. The company has already completed efficacy trials with several high-value commodities such as berries, pomegranates, cherries, papayas, fresh hops and flowers, and it expects to announce additional orders of RipeLocker containers soon.

“Using RipeLocker containers to extend the post-harvest life of fresh produce and flowers quickly translates to better quality, longer selling seasons and greater margins for growers and packers,” said George Lobisser, CEO and co-founder of RipeLocker. “We have seen excellent results in our efficacy trials, including this one with Blueberry Hill, and are confident we will soon become the preferred container for storing and shipping perishables around the world. In addition, the ultra-low oxygen and pressure environment of our RipeLocker containers makes them perfect for organics.”

“We were extremely pleased with the pristine quality of the blueberries that had been stored in the RipeLocker containers for eight weeks. They looked like they came right out of the field,” said Jeff Weijohn, owner of Blueberry Hill. “After seeing such great results, we quickly signed up to lease the RipeLocker containers as we anticipate a strong ROI from using them.”

Blueberry Hill plans to use the RipeLocker containers it leases to store and ship its blueberries and potentially other perishables in the future. The company expects to be able to use each container 4-5 times each season.

The Technology Behind RipeLocker Containers

RipeLocker containers offer a unique, patented system to manage the atmospheric pressure, humidity and gas composition (oxygen and CO2) within the containers to extend the life of fresh produce and flowers. The containers suppress pathogen growth, resulting in significantly less decay. In addition, RipeLocker containers can provide a vehicle for delivering organic fungicide vapors to kill the pathogen.

Based on the specific needs of each type of fresh produce or flower, RipeLocker tailors operating parameters, such as internal pressure, oxygen and CO2 levels, to optimize the longevity and freshness. The system responds to changes in the storage or shipping environment, making automatic precise adjustments to prevent damage and reduce decay.

RipeLocker designed its containers so that they can easily be deployed and used in the existing cold chain. Produced using novel materials and highly scalable manufacturing processes, the RipeLocker container is the first solution that can be delivered cost effectively in mass volume. RipeLocker has patents on both the container design and method of operation.

About RipeLocker
RipeLocker is a leader in extending the post-harvest life of perishables. The company’s patented, dynamic, low-atmosphere containers are used for storing and shipping fresh produce and flowers, and extend the post-harvest life by weeks, often even months. When RipeLocker containers are used, consumers benefit from better taste and shelf-life, and retailers experience less waste at their stores. RipeLocker, founded in 2016 and based in Seattle, WA, US, is a science-based and data-driven company. It has been testing the efficacy of its RipeLocker containers for several years with many of the largest growers in the world. For more information, go to www.ripelocker.com

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Blueberries – RipeLocker

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AFN: What’s the origins story of RipeLocker?

AFN: So how does the technology work?

AFN: How does your tech compare to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)?

AFN: How does RipeLocker compare to tech that applies coatings to produce?

AFN: How do you handle temperature fluctuations and humidity?

AFN: How does the system know if adjustments to the atmosphere are needed?

AFN: What’s the business case for the user?

AFN: How easy is the system to use?

AFN: What IP do you have?

AFN: What’s the business model?

AFN: Is the RipeLocker system designed to work only with produce that’s in the cold chain?

AFN: What are some of the challenges and barriers to uptake?

AFN: How have you funded the company?

AFN: What progress have you made to date?