Invisible packaging: Sufresca eyes fresh produce edible coatings commercialization

18 Mar 2020 --- Israel-based Sufresca has developed edible coatings that eliminate fresh produce plastic packaging entirely and reduce food loss and waste. The tailor-made edible formulations arrive with easily implemented application techniques and maintain appearance and taste “as if just harvested,” the company touts. This innovation comes as the packaging industry is toying with ideas of packaging-free solutions to the F&B industry.

“Our mission is to set new market standards for fresh produce handling, where cost-effective, eco-friendly and green coating solutions are available for all fruit and vegetable, and later on for all food commodities, for which plastic is currently used to extend shelf-life,” Efrat Boker Ferri, CEO of Sufresca, tells PackagingInsights.

Cucumbers before and after Sufresca treatment.Sufresca is currently working on expanding its operation to include all food perishables. Tested solutions have already been found for peppers and garlic, but finalized products for tomatoes and cucumbers are still in progress. 

The edible coatings can be stored at ambient temperatures, do not require dilution and extend shelf-life up to six months. The coatings are made of water, glazing agents, emulsifiers, stabilizers and acidity regulators. “All ingredients used in our coatings are recognized by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as food additives (E Number) and by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS),” Boker Ferri explains.

Sufresca’s technology can provide non-toxic, biodegradable coatings that are “extremely thin to the degree of being completely unnoticeable,” that is, in sight, smell and taste. Coating thickness depends on the application technique, considering the physical structure and roughness of the fruit or vegetable surface as well as the chemical wetting and better adherence to the cuticle of the coated commodity, she continues. The company’s tested emulsion-type coating yielded “great results” at just 0.1mm thickness, for example.

“SufrescaPepper emulsion-type coating, for example, eliminates shriveling and decreases transpiration without changing the sensory evaluation of the coated pepper. SufrescaGarlic, on the other hand, is a film-type coating that, although visible, mimics the natural appearance of garlic skins and prolongs shelf-life in months.”

Logistical benefits in a wasteful world
Disposing of single-use plastic packaging for fresh produce comes at a time when 30 percent of post-harvest fruits and vegetables are lost or wasted globally and one-third of enduring global garbage consists of plastic packages, Sufresca highlights. 

The coatings deliver optimized modified atmosphere, serving preservation in green paper packaging. “As a matter of clarity, any kind of packaging is redundant in terms of preservation and effectiveness. For marketability and salability reasons, retailers may sell commodities in bulks or packed servings. To this end, Sufresca’s products may be complemented by biodegradable paper packaging, from which no preservation functionality is required.”

Boker Ferri maintains that the company is currently aiming to preserve and extend the shelf-life of fresh-ready-to-eat snacks, such as pomegranate arils, grapes and berries. These are designed to address fluid loss and decay issues that arise due to damages to the surface, caused inevitably by either manual or mechanical processing. The coatings can therefore only treat “injured” areas, acting as a “bandage” of sorts, to prevent the escape of fluids.

(All photo credits: Sufresca)Moreover, Sufresca’s CEO affirms that the company is currently in the process of obtaining official regulatory approvals from both the EFSA and the FDA. Having gained official certification, the company will set the wheels in motion for the technology to become commercially available. Although Sufresca only started regulatory processes a few months ago, its team has been researching edible coatings for more than 15 years, she notes.

“So far, we have collaborated with several European entities and successfully completed six experiments, where particularly outstanding results were demonstrated for cucumbers and peppers. Likewise, we plan to expand our operations and collaborations with more European and US partners,” she concludes.

By Anni Schleicher