In collaboration with Virgil Gamache Farms (VGF) in Yakima, Washington, 360 pounds of their unique brand of fresh hops called Amarillo^® were harvested and immediately stored in RipeLockers for over a week.  These fresh hops were then shipped via refrigerated truck to Barebottle Brewing Company in San Francisco, California to brew their annual Amarillo^® Fresh Hop IPA.

“Seeing the vivid, emerald-green depth of the RipeLocker ‘fresh’ hops was astounding. Despite being picked 7 days earlier, they looked – and smelled – better than fresh hops we received within 12 hours of being harvested,” exclaimed Lester Koga, Co-Founder of Barebottle Brewing Company.

Growers can significantly increase their margins by shifting volume from dry to fresh markets. Micro-brewers can drastically reduce delivery costs and have extended access to fresh hops after harvest periods. By using RipeLockers to store hops immediately after harvest, fresh hop growers can maintain the high quality for up to six weeks.  With this technology, the period to purchase fresh hops is lengthened, and brewers have more time to obtain fresh hops well after the harvest stage and avoid costly overnight air freight.

“Our technology simply works on all perishables as it’s based on the science of slowing respiration, transpiration, and suppressing decay. The opportunity to prove it on fresh hops was an exciting challenge as to-date fresh hops shelf-life has been defined in hours not weeks,” says George Lobisser, CEO/Co-Founder of RipeLocker.

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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/.

“Using dynamic, low-atmosphere containers, RipeLocker can extend a crop’s after-harvest life by weeks, and often months. Not only that, but longer-term, the technology can even extend a season far past traditional competitor’s seasons, giving them an edge on demand and availability,” George Lobisser, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company, told me over an early morning call from his Bainbridge Island, Washington, office. “This means that grower/packer/shippers reduce food loss and consumers benefit from a better taste, longer shelf-life, and seasonal availability.”

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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/

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“All these pressing issues in our pandemic world are accelerating investment in innovations for the postharvest packinghouse,” Ernest “Boomer” Cardinale, U.S. Director of Marketing and Business Development with Decco, says. “The larger food storage and packing facilities are investing in automation, including robotics, to help close the gap in labor disruption. Automating routine functions, like packing, loading, and quality assurance, through AI (Artificial Intelligence) and robotics are game changers but still reserved for the larger well-funded operators. Once economies of scale are met, these automated solutions will be more accessible to all levels of operators.”…

Food Waste
At RipeLocker, grower partners are seeking improvement in postharvest operational efficiencies to not only reduce defects but also decrease food loss and waste. According to Director of Marketing Selynn Vong, delaying senescence or degradation of fruit to prolong its freshness and tasting quality is attainable through technologically advanced postharvest solutions that do not involve additional coatings, fungicides or picking fruit green before natural ripening. This disruptive innovation in a hi-tech low-atmosphere storage solution allows for the picking of fruit at later stages of the ripening process, resulting in healthier and better tasting fruit, she says.

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