Fresher Food, Longer

Food loss and waste

Food that gets spilled or spoiled before it reaches its final product or retail stage is called food loss. Did you know that up to one third of all food is spoiled or squandered before it is able to be consumed by people? This results in a waste of the labor, water, energy, land and other inputs that went into producing that food.

Reducing food loss in the field

After harvesting, food grading is done to separate the crop into A, B and C quality buckets. The A bucket contains perfect berries. The B bucket contains less than perfect but edible berries that are used in processing jam, sauces and more. The C bucket is for food waste and contains crop that does not meet the standard for consumption or processing.

Strawberry harvesting - Grade C Bucket

A “Grade C” bucket of strawberries that will be discarded as food waste in the field

Strawberry harvesting - Grade A Bucket

A “Grade A” bucket of strawberries that will go to market for sale

But what if the amount of crop that ends up in this C bucket could be reduced by 10%?

That would therefore represent a 10% increase in crop quality and yield, meaning 10% more food would go to market and be available to you, the consumer.

BVT can help make this a reality.

The BVT system is highly effective in controlling pests and diseases in crops, helping to protect the fruit from rot and mold. This also impacts shelf life; reducing these negative effects well down the field-to-plate food distribution process.

 

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