Ecological Treatments in the Postharvest of Fruits and Vegetables

The market's new trends and consumer preferences for pesticide-free horticultural products have led to a significant increase in organic agriculture: the land dedicated to this type of agriculture increased by more than 50% from 2012 to 2020. The 'Farm to Fork' strategy, included in the European Green Deal, aims to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030 and increase organic production to 25% of total production. In achieving these goals, postharvest plays a crucial role.

It is important to note that any product intended for use in organic agriculture must first be properly authorized for use by the competent authority and subsequently possess the certificate of input for use in organic production issued by an authorized certifier. CITROSOL offers various solutions for the ecological postharvest of fruits and vegetables (F&V).

Citrocide® Range

The technological adjuvants Citrocide® Plus and Citrocide® PC, formulated with peracetic acid, are certified inputs for organic agriculture and will soon have vegan certification.

CITROCIDE® ONLINE System for citrus: precise and controlled application of detergent and Citrocide® for fruit cleaning. It acts as a firewall, continuously and effectively disinfecting the washer, thus preventing cross-contamination. Additionally, it enhances fruit hygiene, results in rot control, and reinforces resistance control.

CITROCIDE® Systems for hygienic washing of F&V: prevents cross-contamination, improves food safety, and significantly reduces surface contamination of F&V, contributing to reducing food waste by extending their shelf life. CITROCIDE® systems are specifically designed for different application types, reducing water consumption and incorporating continuous measurement systems for fresh F&V (bell peppers, tomatoes, peeled garlic, mangoes, avocados, etc.) and minimally processed F&V (Citrocide® Fresh-Cut). All these systems help minimize various pathologies, such as peduncular mold in the AVO-System for avocados.

Avo-System for the Hygienic Washing of Avocados

Ecological Treatments for Citrus

BIOCARE® by Citrosol is the first complete range of products for citrus treatment certified as inputs suitable for use in organic agriculture. For drencher treatment, we recommend FUNG-CID BIO BNa, a fungistatic based on Sodium Bicarbonate, a basic substance authorized for postharvest, along with the technological adjuvant Citrocide® Plus to maintain broth hygiene. For line treatment, we recommend the Citrocide® Online system, along with our range of certified ecological coatings for citrus with cold treatment, a combination that achieves excellent results. Currently, we are working on registering a novel product based on natural extracts (GREENCIDE®), which has efficacy comparable to synthetic fungicides in controlling citrus rot, even for extended storage and/or transport periods.

Certified Coatings

The PLANTSEAL® range is our range of vegetable coatings with ecological certification and suitable for vegan consumption, a pioneer in the market for use in citrus, avocados, and mangoes. The range includes Plantseal®, Plantseal® Shine-free, Plantseal® CI-control (Chilling-injury Control), and Plantseal® Tropicals coatings.

All these coatings have excellent control of weight loss and external cold damage, increase the fruit's commercial life by mitigating aging symptoms, and provide a natural shine to the fruit. In addition, Plantseal® Tropicals has proven to be very effective in controlling internal browning in avocados. An additional and highly relevant advantage is that the use of these coatings can contribute to reducing plastic consumption in various applications, with conservation results equivalent to those achieved with plastic. For example, the use of Plantseal® as a coating allowed the avoidance of more than 4,000 kilograms of plastic used as packaging for Chinese grapefruits exported to Europe in every 100 fruit containers, enabling access to markets with restrictions and requirements on plastic use.

Grapefruits exported from China to Europe with plastic wrapping (left) and with Plantseal® coating (right).