Blueberry Buzz

Blueberries are becoming more and more popular. They are full of antioxidants, flavorful, convenient to snack and are great in recipes, such as smoothies which are a real hit. Consumption of all berries in the UK for instance in 2015 increased by 30% on the previous year, a trend that is representative also across Europe. Like other bush berries, blueberries benefit from modified atmosphere packaging and controlled atmosphere. Achieving the desired composition will preserve firmness and inhibit fungal decay during long distance transactions. Nevertheless, too low or too high CO2 concentrations will aggravate softening and too high CO2 may also result in effervescence (fizziness). Therefore, packaging design and postharvest handling are critical in order to obtain the desired, beneficial gas compositions and added value. Xtend® packaging, by StePac, modified atmosphere/modified humidity bulk packaging for blueberries is growing in popularity amongst blueberry exporters in numerous countries including Chile, Peru, Morocco, Spain, Poland, to name a few. This is primarily on account of the packaging's ability to provide optimal modified atmosphere conditions and also manage condensation during prolonged shipment, thereby reducing decay and preserving firmness, arguably better than any other product on the market.  The postharvest services that we provide at Johnson Matthey to our customers in these countries also play a role. Chileans and Peruvians are mainly using the packaging for shipping their berries prepacked in punnets to Europe and the Far East (Pic.1) Nevertheless, in Poland, Morocco and Spain, customers are using the packaging to ship loosely packed blueberries to their customers in Western Europe (Pic. 2). Receiving loose blueberries in Xtend bulk packaging enables the importers to buffer their stock and then when there is a demand from the retailers, the blueberries are tipped on grading machines (such as the BBC grader, manufactured by BBC Technologies, a New Zealand-based company developing innovative sorting technology) and then packed in punnets to be shipped directly to the supermarket. This model provides a great deal of flexibility to the importer and avoids logistical nightmares associated with rework on prepacked blueberries in the event of quality issues. Here there lies another opportunity for use of Xtend packaging. Our specially designed lidding film can replace clam shells, open top punnets and punnets covered with macro-perforated lidding film and provide additional shelf life at the supermarket store and consumers home on account of modified atmosphere conditions that develop within (Pic. 3). Another Xtend retail packaging solution that is gaining momentum in Chile right now is for flow pack enabling some Chilean exporters to export the punnets individually wrapped in modified atmosphere packaging (Pic.4). This format is also ideal for E-commerce. As usual, at this time of the year, our reps together with our loyal Chilean distributor, Empack are busy evaluating arrivals of Chilean blueberries in Xtend packaging at different locations around the world in order to confirm the good performance of Xtend packaging.  Pictures taken during recent inspections in China are given in Pic. 5. On account of the fact that blueberries are often sold on the open market in China, where temperatures can be in excess of 20°C at this time of the year, packaging permeability was specially designed to avoid accumulation of high levels of CO2 which aggravate softening and cause effervescence (fizziness) and yet still provide the added value that the Chinese customers are looking for. It is our unique offering of customized Xtend packaging solutions coupled with expert postharvest know-how and a very professional distributor in Chile, Empack, that are key to our success there. Pictures:Pic 1. Chilean blueberries packed in punnets and sealed in Xtend bulk packaging. Pic 2. Loosely packed blueberries in Xtend bulk packaging that are graded and packed on demand.Pic 3. Xtend lidding film for blueberries provides an opportunity for extending supermarket shelf life and reducing use of plastic by replacing clam shells.Pic 4. Xtend flow pack for blueberries which is being promoted by Empack, the distributor of Xtend products in Chile. Pic 5: Xtend packaging containing blueberries upon arrival in China. Note the lack of con densation and high clarity of the film, both of which make the produce easily visible. The ability to control condensation helps alleviate microbial decay.