Biofresh Safestore Added Two New Features to Its Potato Sprout Suppression Device
A CO2 monitor and Pulsed Start capabilities are now available for Biofresh Safestore’s ethylene potato sprout suppression device.
Every 30 minutes, the CO2 monitor collects readings and displays the levels on the HMI screen. It can be retrofitted into existing systems or added as an optional addition to new ones. The device can be linked to ventilation systems in stores, enabling completely automatic CO2 control within predetermined limits. Maintaining fry colors in processing crops can be achieved by actively controlling CO2 levels when employing ethylene as a sprout suppressant.
The impact that ethylene may have on fry colors in processing potato harvests can be lessened by introducing ethylene to the store progressively in small bursts (a “Pulsed Start”) and then gradually ramping up continuous ethylene. This procedure can be completely automated by programming the Safestore system. Technical staff from Safestore will help producers choose the best program for their needs, keeping in mind the end-user requirements, storage temperatures, and varietal variances.
“As a company, we have always been focused on providing the best possible method of helping our customers deliver the best quality product, and these two new features will make achieving that even easier. Both the CO2 monitor and the pulsed start functionality take the Biofresh Safestore system to the next level and give our growers even more control of their stores. We’ve worked hard to ensure that both of these new features can be added easily and quickly to existing systems and do not require existing customers to purchase completely new systems. We think both features will further enhance the quality of the potatoes that our customers are storing,” Jeremy Barraclough of Biofresh Safestore said.
Ethylene-based potato sprout suppressant systems, such as Biofresh Safestore proved to be the all-around best solution for extending the life of potatoes without any chemical residue. The Biofresh Safestore system is the most cost-effective ethylene system available and can be used in box or bulk stores.
In the UK, ethylene has been used commercially since 2003 as an alternative to the more traditional chemical-based sprout suppressants.
Originally targeted at providing a residue-free sprout suppressant solution for pre-pack crops, further to the demise of CIPC in Europe, ethylene is also used extensively in crops destined for processing.
