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Mission Produce, Inc. Talks Innovation at Fresh Summit

Oxnard, CA – October 9, 2019

Mission Produce, Inc., the world’s most advanced avocado network, talks innovation at PMA Fresh Summit by discussing its latest ground-breaking solution: an exclusively marketed technology that extends the shelf-life of avocados and reduces food waste. This post-harvest product was designed by Hazel Technologies, Inc., a USDA-funded company that develops new technologies to extend the quality and shelf-life of fresh produce in global supply chains. Mission Produce and Hazel Technologies announced their partnership earlier this year.

“Hazel Technologies designed this solution for the avocado supply chain to ensure an unprecedented avocado quality extension and an unparalleled consumer eating experience,” said CEO of Hazel Technologies Aidan Mouat. The technology is a quarter-sized, biodegradable packaging insert that successfully slows down the avocado ripening process by conditioning the atmosphere in the box to slow the fruit’s respiration rate. This is not to be confused with an ethylene scrubber.

For the past year, Mission Produce’s R&D team has conducted extensive testing on this product (dubbed AVOLAST) throughout its global supply chain. “By integrating AVOLAST into our business, customers across the world will notice an increase in the shelf-life and quality of their avocados. No other solution can do that,” said Sr. Director of Business Development Patrick Cortes. What makes this technology so exceptional is its ease of use. “AVOLAST makes sense because the program can be tailored to fit any of our customer’s needs and infrastructure, much like our ripe program,” added Cortes.

Not only does the technology benefit Mission Produce’s customers, but it also serves a greater purpose: the fight against global food waste. "Since 2018, we estimate that our technologies prevented about 130 million pounds of fresh produce from going to waste, which is equivalent to over 3,000 full truck loads,” said Mouat. "This directly translates to offsetting more than 100,000 metric tons of CO2E from food waste." As food waste and loss continues to rise, it is critical for companies like Mission Produce to play its part in reducing the amount of fruit that goes squandered.”