From today, Edeka is the only German partner company of ‚Apeel Sciences‘ to offer its customers the first avocados in this country that are naturally fresher for longer. Thanks to innovative technology, the US company has found a sustainable way to extend the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Apeel is made from plant-based materials contained in the peel, seeds and pulp of various types of fruit and vegetables. This adds an extra layer to the surface of fresh produce to protect the flavour. slow down water loss and the penetration of oxygen.
These are the two main factors that cause the usual spoilage. Customers can recognise the avocados in the Frischesafe in selected Edeka stores and Netto Marken-Discount branches by the corresponding labelling.
Every year in Germany Over 12 million tonnes of food disposed of, more than half of it in private households, 75 kilograms per person according to a 2019 study by the Thünen Institute.
„Apeel is a natural answer to the question of how fresh fruit and vegetables can be kept for longer and how plastic packaging can be reduced. Freshness and quality are one of Edeka's key quality promises and the systematic reduction of food waste and product packaging is one of our central goals.“
Markus Mosa, Chairman of the Management Board of Edeka AG
For Over 30 different types of fruit and vegetables the US company has developed recipes. The company's entry into the German market is the 2018 Time magazine award-winning Genius Company exclusively with the Edeka Group.
[infotext icon]Apeel Sciences was founded in 2012 with a gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help reduce post-harvest food loss for developing countries without access to refrigeration. Apeel Sciences was founded by CEO James Rogers, PhD. The company is recognised as 2018 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, as a Friend of Champions 12.3 and a 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50.[/infotext].„We share the same values. Above all, the responsible handling and sustainable production of food, especially fruit and vegetables.“
James Rogers, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ‚Apeel Sciences‘
Fruit and vegetables in the freshness safe
Firstly, customers are offered avocados with Apeel in selected EDEKA stores in parts of northern Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia as well as in Netto shops in parts of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony. A Nationwide availability is planned for 2020. Appropriate cross-market labelling signals product quality, sustainability and longer freshness.
The thin extra cover from Apeel serves as a kind of „second“ skin for fruit and vegetables and is odourless and tasteless. As a protective layer, it creates an optimal microclimate that allows fruit and vegetables to continue to breathe and ripen - but more slowly. Producers also benefit from the technology because they can harvest closer to the optimum ripening time.
Source: Edeka Zentrale AG & Co. KG
