- In the Southern Hemisphere, Chile is the largest exporter of berries. Therefore, national researchers focus their efforts on increasing their life, to allow these products to reach more distant markets. An eco active container which aims to contribute to this purpose has been generated at U. Santiago.
In 2008, Dr. Maria Paula Junqueira, academic at the Technological Faculty, committed herself to making a contribution to the food area, and she was part of the task of converting Chile into a food power. Thus, through a Fondef project, she tried to combat the limitations generated, particularly by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, in the so -called berries, and this allowed their extension of life.
The closing of the investigation "Life extension of fresh berries by using eco-active packaging” was held on Friday 19th at the Plaza San Francisco Hotel, where the results were presented to the participating institutions.
The eco active container has an antifungal agent in his film, which fights the fungus specifically mentioned. Also, it is also friendly with the environment, because it is recyclable. To verify the efficiency of the invention, tests with raspberries and blueberries were tested in Chile, while in England raspberries and blackberries were used, because we are in different seasons.
Of all the berries used in the study, raspberries showed a better response to interact with the packaging, and this helped to extend its life in two days.
"We had a very promising result," the academic at the Department of Science and Food Technology remarked; she added that "due to the final results of this research, an initiative was taken in order to try with other fruits like grapes and strawberries and we already have companies which are interested in participating. "
Dr. Junqueira thanked the cooperation of the school, saying that she had "an unconditional support from the University from the start and then at all stages involved in the project."
This work, which also involved Dr. Maria Angelica Bargains and Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, members of the same academic unit, gave birth to a patent application in Chile, which will also be replicated abroad soon.
Companies’ experience
In the presentation of results, representatives of the participating companies were present. Enrique Harvgreaves attended in representation of Typack company, a packaging company. He said: "I do hope that this product is on the market soon.” He also thanked the opportunity to develop a collaborative work with the University.
Meanwhile, Alvaro Acevedo, from Vitalberry, referred to the contribution generated in the production process of these fruits during the investigation. "The market demands have pushed us to the improvement of production processes, and this has increased the quality requirements demanded for these products," he said. He also emphasized that this result "has a lot of potential; undoubtedly, it is a product to be applied massively".
Dr. Luis Magne, Head of Technology Transfer, attended on behalf of the Vice-President for Research, Development and Innovation. He said "we take on the challenge of leading the University on the path of innovation. The road has not been easy but maturity has been achieved in the sense of understanding what technological research is. "
Luisa Martínez, financial analyst of the Fund for the Promotion of Science and Technology was also present in this event.
By Valeria Osorio
