Citrosol is trailblazing previously untrodden paths in the post-harvest sector. Our plant-based coatings were the first to receive ecological certification, and now our latest coatings have been awarded the vegan seal of approval. These are new solutions that reduce chilling injury marks on citrus fruit in refrigerated shipments.
Citrosol is continuing to impart its knowledge through webinars or internet seminars. Just a few days ago, almost 300 sector professionals were gathered together, including clients, technicians and distributors from various countries around the world, under the heading “The prevalence of chilling injury in citrus shipping and refrigeration. Advances in its control”.
During the seminar, Citrosol’s CEO outlined the company’s strategy in the form of the CI-CONTROL line of coatings, where the Plantseal® and Plantseal® Shine-free formulations take centre stage, and was also able to make an important announcement. “We have just received the vegan seal of approval, confirming that these coatings are suitable for vegan consumers, adding to the ecological certification that we had already obtained for our PLANTSEAL products” emphasized Jorge Bretó.
During his presentation, the head of the Valencian company specializing in postharvest solutions showed different tests that reinforce the effectiveness of the different coatings that make up the CI-CONTROL line in controlling marking caused by “chilling injury” with very high percentages of effectiveness. Bretó specified that “thiabendazole can be removed from the wax and, with our formulations, still achieve very good results in the mitigation of chilling injury. This represents a significant competitive advantage in those markets that require a reduction in the use of active ingredients”.
The CI-CONTROL range comprises different coatings, Citrosol Sunseal® UE and Sunseal® Extra UE, Plantseal® and Plantseal® Shine-free, Citrosol A and AK Camara UE and Citrosol AK UE and AK UE extra. During the seminar Jorgé Bretó focused on highlighting the advantages of Plantseal® and Plantseal® Shine-free, these having been bestowed with the vegan seal of the European Vegetarian Union, V-Label.EU just a few days ago.
From there, Jorge Bretó offered an enlightening explanation of the importance of using these coatings, since with them the fruit ages more slowly and both weight loss control and chilling injury are improved. In consequence their use reduces losses and waste, and the commercial life of the citrus fruit is notably increased.
Plantseal® and Plantseal® Shine-free provide a natural shine and in the latter the presence of the coating is almost imperceptible, much akin to an unwaxed fruit.
Both, formulated with vegetable waxes, achieve a weight loss control much superior to other coatings. They do not cause bad taste, unlike those that are too impermeable to oxygen, causing bad flavors or blackening of the pulp, as for example happens in avocados with other coatings.
Genetic and environmental conditions.
Jorge Bretó’s presentation was preceded by Lorenzo Zacarías, a researcher at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA) and an accomplished expert in rind anomalies and chilling injury, among other topics of interest, who described a wide range of causes in the origin of the physiological alterations during the postharvest care of citrus fruit. “The same genotype under different climatic conditions behaves differently,” said the researcher.
To explain the genetic factor, Lorenzo Zacarías showed test results of differing varieties of mandarins and their different level of sensitivity to chilling injury. The analysis was completed with environmental elements, such as exposure to the sun, wind or thermal fluctuations, adding cultural issues and agronomic management, such as tree pruning. “For example, covering the fruit in the field increases tolerance to cold damage,” Zacarías explained.
To avoid water stress related defects, which are sometimes confused with symptoms of chilling injury, the IATA speaker recommended avoiding the harvesting of susceptible varieties after dry or windy days when the fruit may be dehydrated. He also recommended avoiding post-harvest conditions in which dehydration is more likely, such as sudden changes in relative humidity (from low to high) and maintaining the hydric state of the fruit after harvest.
Finally, Lorenzo Zacarías emphasized the need for careful postharvest handling, trying to progressively condition the fruit to avoid or minimize changes in the hydric state, at least in the batches that are suspected of being more susceptible to this type of marking.
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