Fruit

‘Dedicated to freshness’ is our motto and not without reason: the taste and freshness of fruit is our passion. As consumers we are not standing next to the pear or apple tree when the fruits are picked, but a proper cooling on the journey from land to shelf makes that we do experience the taste of freshness. Even if the moment of picking took place weeks or months ago.

The thing about fruit storage

Keeping fruit is a bit more complicated than the storage of other food.

The goal is to suspend the ripening of the fruit. When cooling fruit, things normally start with the lowering of the temperature of the produce in a cold storage with relatively high humidity. This will stop the metabolism of the fruit (the breathing and hence the biological process of ripening) while avoiding dehydration.

We should keep in mind that some types of fruit are to be cooled down quickly with the help of a pre-cool wall, where other types cannot withstand such a treatment and need to be cooled down gradually. This distinction requires produce know-how. And this knowledge is also vital for the choice, the design and implementation of the proper technology for the storage and cooling of fruit.

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CA/ULO cooling technologies

Many types of fruit can be stored up to 2 or 4 times longer when relying on CA/ULO cooling technologies. In this process the level of oxygen, carbon dioxide and ethylene in the storage chamber are monitored next to the temperature. The oxygen level is reduced considerably in order to slow down the metabolism even further.  Likewise, the carbon dioxide level is controlled and if necessary the ethylene level is managed as well.

Next to the equipment to control temperature, humidity and gasses, the fruit storage chamber itself is important. This room should be constructed in such a way that it not only insulates for temperature, but is also vapour and gas sealed. Especially the gas seal of the doors is subject to strict requirements. Fruits that benefit from CA/ULO technologies are a.o., apples, pears, kiwis and blueberries.

The advantages of Geerlofs cooling

Geerlofs has a number of unique advantages:

  • Knowledge of your produce, indispensible for a proper design of fruit storage.
  • Turnkey: the storage building, as well as fruit refrigeration and ULO technologies are in our reliable hands.
  • Extended and tailor-made control and visualisation with Gispro®, providing control, flexibility and insight.
  • Ample experience in designing, building and maintenance of refrigeration technology: continuity and reliability at low cost.

WATCH OUR MOVIE TO GET AN IMPRESSION OF OUR FRUIT PROJECTS https://youtu.be/iDPXSLYEEi0