A sea change for flower shipping

The future of transporting fresh-cut flowers worldwide could quite literally undergo a sea change.?Maersk Container Industry of Denmark is partnering with Boston-based technology company?Primaira LLC to develop an air cleaning system in Star Cool Integrated refrigerated shipping containers, according to a company news release. The Bluezone patented technology uses an ozone concentration 300 times higher than anything else on the market to eliminate molds, fungi, ethylene and bacteria. This will increase the geographical reach of containerized transport. Similar systems are used for shipping fresh produce by sea and the new technology would prolong the life of roses, tulips, carnations and other flowers. If the lifespan of some of the most popular varieties could be doubled, marine freight companies could transport half of the 700,000 metric tons of cut flowers shipped each year. ?We are still working on the final design, but we are convinced that the Bluezone and Star Cool combination represents economic and environmental upsides so far unseen in container transportation, potentially converting today?s airfreight of fresh-cut flowers into reefer containers,? said Soren Leth Johannsen, chief commercial officer of MCI, in the news release. Fresh-cut flowers are a $14 billion market globally, with more than 90 percent of intercontinental shipments by air. Transporting flowers by sea could potentially result in an 80 percent cut in costs for growers and forwarding companies. The significantly lower price is not the only incentive for using sea transport rather than air transport. There is also an approximately 150 times higher carbon dioxide output per air shipment than by boat. ?You don?t need that much energy to push a boat on water compared to what you need to keep a plane in the air,? said Oliver von Kauffmann, director of Flowers On Waves AB in Sweden, in a news release. His company currently transports roses, cut flowers and plants from Kenya to central Europe solely by sea, using a unique Flower Transport Gel. ?The main thing is to keep a steady temperature,? said von Kauffmann in the release. ?But we also use a special gel, which gives the cut flowers the necessary moisture and nourishment and prevents bacteria from developing.? Johannsen predicted that MCI?s reefer boxes would be used first on popular airline routes, transporting Kenyan roses and carnations to Europe. Other possible routes could include the United States receiving tulips shipped from the Netherlands or sunflowers and orchids from Colombia. ? Source Hortibiz, from The Produce NewsKey wordsPoscosecha?? ?postcosecha?? ?postharvest?? ?na-oes?? ??? ??? ???????? ????? ??? ?post-r?colte?? ????? ?? ??????????? ??? ?na-oogst?? ?post-raccolta?? ?Obr?bka po?? ?p?s-colheita?? ????????????????? ?hasat sonras??? ??? ?Ernte?? ????????????????? ????? ????????????? ?postcollita?? ?poskliz?ov頠 ????? ??? ??? ??? ?nakon branja?? ?pozberov頠 ??? ?obdelovanje zemlje po?? ?post-colleita?? ?????? ??????? ?pascapanen?? ??il?onn postharvest?? ??????? ?p?c ra?as?? ?derliaus apdirbimas po?? ?lepas tuai?? ??? ?? ???????? ?post-recoltare?? ??????? ??????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????????? ?sau thu ho?ch?? ?????????????????? ?zangemva kwenkathi yokuvunaFlores?? ??? ?flowers?? ?blomme?? ???????? ???? ??? ?fleur?? ??????????? ?????? ??? ?fiore?? ??? ? ?? ????????? ??i?ek?? ? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ? ?