New innovation helps increase airflow in containers to keep fruit at optimal quality

Many fresh produce items are grown in regions near the equator and then shipped to other countries for consumption. This means that the ships carrying these products pass through areas where temperatures can be quite high, which can potentially be harmful to the products that are being shipped. While containers have cooling units, often the cold air from these units doesn’t reach every corner of the container. This leads to the creation of hot spots that increase the respiration rate of the fruit, which can then result in lower-quality fruit.

OTFLOW® is a new innovation that helps increase the airflow in the containers. The company is based in Rotterdam and was established by Ronald Hagenstein and Otto de Groot. The OTFLOW® is an 11 meter long floor cover that consists of 9 separate parts and is made of 100% recycled and waterproof material. The mat helps improve the airflow in the containers; by creating optimal airflow, the temperatures in the containers are also kept at optimal levels. This ensures that less fruit is thrown out, thus reducing financial loss for both exporters and importers.

Even quality throughout the containers
Ton de Weert is the quality control manager of The Greenery, a fruit and vegetable trade cooperative in the Netherlands. He says: “Under the right conditions, pears can be stored for a long time before being sold in the store. But if the conditions are not good, the fruit can show all kinds of defects, such as drying. When that happens you get wrinkled fruit that you usually cannot store. With good climate conditions, you can better control the shelf life of pears. That is why we now work with OTFLOW® for our pear export to China. After all, there are strict requirements on the import of fruit and vegetables in China.”

Ton has had very positive feedback from the company’s Chinese customers. “The feedback from our Chinese customers is very positive. The quality of the fruit is measurably higher throughout the entire container. Fewer fruits get dried out and it all has a longer shelf life. The biggest advantage is that it almost doesn’t matter whether the fruit is in the front or back of the container, near or far from the cooling installation,” he says. 

The Greenery now plans to have use the OTFLOW® for products other than pears too, such as for their mangos. Ton says: “Certainly for The Greenery, where sustainability and quality are of paramount importance, it is important that the ventilation in the containers is increasingly optimized.”

Not only better quality, also longer shelf-life
Jaguar Fruits is a global exporter and importer of fruit and has branches in the Netherlands and China. The company was the first to use OTFLOW® for exports out of the Netherlands. Special Projects Manager Sven Thomas remarks that handling agents often worry most about the six back pallets. These pallets make up almost a third of the load, and they are vulnerable when the fruit that is being transported is very sensitive to temperature, such as pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, and kiwis which can be affected by a mere 1 degree change in temperature.

Then there are other types of fruit that even produce heat themselves, such as mangos. Sven says: “With these, the rear part of the loads almost always arrives in poorer condition than the front part. This is because the temperature is not constant throughout the entire container.”

Sven has found that the OTFLOW® makes a significant difference in his shipments. He says: “The OTFLOW® makes a significant difference in the ventilation in the container, as a result of which the quality of the entire container and in particular the rear part of the load is retained much better. The ripeness is better and healthy fruits stay healthy. With OTFLOW®, you not only get better quality for the consumer but the fruit can also be kept longer after shipping. Thus, you can sell the fruit when the market demands it. It is more sustainable and commercially attractive,” he concludes. 

The OTFLOW® is for growers, exporters, importers, logistics operators and freight forwarders.

For more information:
OTFLOW
Tel: +31 6 53234536
Email: [email protected]  
www.otflow.com