Packaging insert extends avocado shelf life

Mission Produce avocados stay fresh about three days longer with Avolast technology

Mission Produce shows how much longer an avocado lasts after cold storage with an ethylene blocker tucked into packaging.

Graphic courtesy of Mission Produce

A new quarter-sized packaging insert is keeping Mission Produce Inc. avocados fresh longer.

The company partnered with Hazel Technologies on the biodegradable and food-safe AvoLast insert, which temporarily blocks an avocado’s ethylene receptors and slows ripening.

Testing showed extended shelf life of about three days, meaning less throwaways for retailers and a longer window for consumers to enjoy a just-right avocado, important with people making fewer grocery trips during the pandemic.

Incorporating the inserts into Mission’s global supply chain was easy because the drop-in solution minimizes operational impact, the companies say.

Rose Shilling is a previous managing editor of Food Engineering Magazine. She wrote feature stories on a variety of topics and tracked the food packaging industry. A journalist with an editing background at news services and newspapers, she also has driven editorial projects in health care and higher education.

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