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Softripe® – The new quality of fruit ripening

What are the benefits for the consumer?

What does Softripe mean?

Softripe is a Brazilian-German innovation and stands for a novel ripening technology for tropical fruits. This allows a significant improvement in the respective fruit quality compared to conventional methods.

Bananas and other tropical fruits, such as mangos and avocados, are among the fruits that can be harvested in an unripe state and still develop to ripeness. This feature is used to bridge long transport routes by ship from producer countries to consumer countries without spoiling the fruits.

During transportation by ship, the goods have to be cooled. This suppresses unwanted premature ripening of the fruit. Once they have arrived in the destination country, the fruits are transported from the port to the individual, regional fruit trade distribution centres. This is done using refrigerated trucks

There, the fruits are matured on a specific delivery day in special ripening rooms. They are matured in a targeted manner. Continuous temperature programmes (heating and cooling) and temporary stimulation with ethylene, the natural fruit, gas stimulate a natural ripening process.

This can take up to 7 days.

The newly patented Softripe technology significantly improves fruit characteristics that are important for the consumer e.g. taste (typical aromas), shelf life and uniform maturity. Because the ripening process is faster and more controlled, energy is saved significantly.

Softripe wants to convince less with words, but rather with personal consumer experiences.

Differences compared to conventional maturing technology?

In the case of conventional ripening, fixed time and parameter programmes are applied without going into the physiological requirements of each fruit. The fruit is ripened under stress.

 

Intelligent and complex software controls the ripening process in order to ripen the fruit in a way that is completely controlled and stress-free. All natural gases found in air and respiratory gases (e.g. oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) and ethylene, the fruit gas, are permanently controlled and optimally adjusted for the fruit to be ripened.

 

In the Softripe process, the fruit is ripened in a completely airtight chamber. As a result, the current state of the fruit can be determined via the fruit-breathing activity, comparable to measuring the pulse or heart rate in humans.

 

Where can I get fruit that has been ripened with Softripe?

The first Softripe ripening plants were put into operation in Brazil and from 2018, the first larger plants for bananas opened in Germany. The ripening plants are operated by service providers in the fruit trade which, in turn, supply food retailers.

We have been soliciting Softripe among fruit traders and retailers since 2018 and in 2019 we won the Silver Innovation Award. The fruit trade shows interest in our new Softripe technology.

Based on our previous practical experience and feedback, we are convinced that in the future, this ripening quality will become the standard across the worldwide.

As a consumer, you have an influence as to whether and how quickly Softripe-ripened goods are offered in your supermarket.

Just ask in your supermarket!

Softripe works also perfect for avocado and mango ripening

The first ripening chambers were specially designed for mangos and avocados in June 2019.

Since then, several ripening projects specifically for exotic fruits have been delivered and installed in Europe.

The ripening results confirm that Softripe also works outstandingly well for exotic fruits.

All the benefits of banana ripening can be applied here even significant more.

Softripe® - the new quality of fruit ripening

 

Award for innovation recipent

Silver for Frigotec GmbH

"Softripe® Ripening Technology" was among the ten nominees for the Fruit Logistica 2019 Innovation Award in Berlin.

 

The "Softripe® ripening technology" of the German company Frigotec GmbH was awarded silver.

 

Trade visitors were impressed by the quality of the banana as well as the natural, energy-saving ripening technology.