Storeguard Sprout Inhibitor Now Available to the UK Potato Industry

A new technique for keeping potatoes in ethylene-applied stores with their fry color intact has an exclusive distributor in the UK, and it’s getting ready for its first full season.
Based on four years of remarkable trial results, Biofresh Safestore is actively pushing the technique to UK potato producers and processors. Following CRD clearance, Biofresh Safestore gained the UK marketing rights to StoreGuard in November 2023.
StoreGuard, a product of AgroFresh, employs 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) to prevent potatoes from changing fry color during processing when ethylene is employed as a sprout inhibitor.
StoreGuard is administered early in the storage process, before the start of ethylene treatment, and is priced per tonne. Staff access is permitted 24 hours following treatment, and StoreGuard soluble tablets are dissolved in an activator solution and put in pouches throughout the shop.
As well as maintaining fry color, StoreGuard can also protect the stored crop from the ‘shock’ of introducing ethylene, reducing transpiration rates, and in turn, weight loss and store fan times.
“Combining SafeGuard with the ethylene-based Safestore system is a highly effective way of both suppressing sprouting and countering the effects on fry color that some varieties can experience when treated with ethylene. With both SafeGuard and SafeStore, there is no detectable residue on the potatoes, and the data from the commercial trials conducted under an experimental license in Europe show the benefits of applying 1-MCP,” Jeremy Barraclough of Biofresh Safestore said.
As well as Europe, Biofresh has conducted trials in the UK, including at Winters Lane Storage, which hosted GB Potatoes’ SPOt Store day recently. Simon Faulkner, an independent agronomist and director of SDF Agriculture who has been involved in the commercial trials of StoreGuard over the last three years, was one of the speakers at the event.
“StoreGuard has been shown to protect some processing potato varieties against the potential negative effects that ethylene can have on fry colors. Applied before ethylene treatment commences, the benefits of StoreGuard typically last through to April. Combined with the careful introduction of ethylene and managing carbon dioxide levels, StoreGuard can help to maintain processing potato quality during storage,” Barraclough concluded.