Page 34 - SMI Issue 62

Meats & Fresh ProduceGetting fresh produce to a vessel can in itself pose numerous challenges but how can you ensure that the provisions which go onboard stay in tip-top condition?With many vessels out at sea for more than two weeks at a time, these days it is not enough to just control temperature when storing fruits and vegetables onboard.Ethylene and contagions from the air inside the cold room can cause provisions to spoil, which is why the Netherlands-based company Praxas decided to offer a solution to ensure crews are supplied with fresh, and healthy, food for a longer period.The Miatech Bio Turbo 100 air cleaner is claimed to eliminate ethylene, mould and bacteria and was developed by Miatech as Norwegian offshore and shipping company GC Rieber Shipping was looking for a solution to keep its supplies fresh for longer. Praxas supported and accompanied GC Rieber with the Bio Turbo test.As Bob van Velden, Director at Praxas, explained: “Fresh fruits and vegetables are extremely susceptible to airborne pathogens. One rotten apple can literally spoil the entire barrel. This is especially the case during transportation, when using equipment for maintaining proper conditions is complicated.“It’s either not possible due to technical reasons or prohibitively expensive to use. Due to these reasons, often at times ship owners do not use any protection from airborne pathogens, risking the entire loads to mould and rots.“The chief reason for premature ripening is ethylene gas; it triggers and promotes the ripening process for ethylene sensitive produce like apples, tomatoes and avocados.”He said proper refrigeration was an absolute necessity for protecting quality of fruits and vegetables but it wasnot enough and additional actions needed to be taken too. Normally, fruits and vegetables show mould, fungus and even rot after two weeks.“At the moment they take no measurements to deal with ethylene and contamination problems. Some ship owners use our passive ethylene filters based on potassium permanganate – this filter removes the ethylene as well. But the Miatech Bio Turbo is more effective and is cheaper in the long term.“It is extremely important to remove ethylene and contagions from the air inside the cold room. By doing this, the crew is supplied with fresh and healthy food for a longer period.”Praxas has been offering Bio Turbo machines to large importers and exporters of fresh produce since 2009, and last year Miatech developed a new small size machine that is easy to install and is designed for small cold rooms up to 100m3.Bio Turbo is patented technology for cleaning the air from all sorts of airborne organic compounds and uses a patented four-stage technology for removing ethylene and airborne pathogens. To achieve this, Bio Turbo uses the power of ozone in a safe and different way.“It is the first technology to harness the power of ozone without exposing people or equipment to any risks. Ozone is securely locked inside the reaction chamber and it never leaves the unit,” explained Mr van Velden.In tests with GC Rieber Shipping, the Miatech Bio Turbo proved to extend the life of fresh fruits and vegetables up to 30 days.Miatech also carried out a test on avocados, conducted by Ice in Refrigeration Engineering at Olivado, one of the world’s largest producers of extra virgin cold pressed avocado oil.32 | The Ship Supplier | Issue 70 2016