Consumers aren’t the only ones frustrated by strawberries unexpectedly spoiling in the fridge crisper.
The shelf life of strawberries is based on a number of factors that growers and scientists who create the fruit varieties are trying to better understand.
Farmer Brendon Hoyle is one of a number of growers working with scientists to make the produce last longer.
“At the end of the day, the shelf life is dependent on how cold and how well kept those strawberries are,” Mr Hoyle said.
Brendon Hoyle says how cold strawberries are kept is important. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
The research includes monitoring harvesting, packing and transport, which is tracked on an app.
“We’re questioning what we’re doing, how quickly we’re moving fruit from the field to the cold rooms, just to be able to monitor and bring that temperature down, and making sure that it leaves on transport at the right temperature are probably the biggest takeaways for us,” Mr Hoyle said.
The app has GPS tracking and details of the conditions in which the fruit is transported. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
Once the produce leaves the farm, Mr Hoyle is able to continue to monitor the temperature, humidity and location of the produce until it’s delivered.
Strawberry-ruining risks
Scientists, growers and retailers know there are many variables in handling conditions, despite best intentions.
Being able to predict the shelf life of fruit helps to reduce food waste. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
The research also includes laboratory testing where scientists try to identify and replicate the pressures causing best practice to fail, which impacts on the shelf life of fruit.
“We can dial up different supply-chain handling scenarios, and then put the fruit through the paces and see how they perform,” project lead Andrew Macnish said.
Andrew Macnish leads the team of researchers. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
Food waste is a $36.6 billion cost to the Australian economy a year, according to the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study
Dr Macnish said being able to predict a fruit’s shelf life would reduce wastage.
As part of the research the fruit was exposed to multiple storage conditions with differing humidity, temperature, time and handling.
As part of research, a range of technology is used to measure the condition of various fruit. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
“What that’s allowing us to do is, is now to develop models and algorithms to predict remaining shelf life, which is a really, really unique thing that we’re doing,” Dr Macnish said.
He said the great distances produce needed to be transported across Australia was one of the biggest challenges for the industry.
The research is funded by Hort Innovation and the Queensland, Victoria and Northern Territory governments.
The right variety also helps
Principal plant breeder Jodi Neal’s job is to breed strawberry varieties, which cost farmers less to pick and pack, while looking, tasting and lasting long enough for the consumer to eat them.
Dr Neal said genetics played a role in fruit’s shelf life.
Jodi Neal says different varieties of strawberries aren’t labelled as apples are in shops. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
“We have to pack in a whole bunch of other traits for larger, firm fruit [with] high yields, good disease resistance,” she said.
After eight years of development, new variety Stella was officially launched this week.
“We literally take pollen from one flower and use a paintbrush to put it on another plant’s flower,” she said.
“We germinate those seed up and we plant them out into field trials.”
Dr Neal said an issue for both growers and customers was the different varieties of strawberries weren’t labelled like apples and other fruits are in the shops.
“As far as consumers are aware, most strawberries, they don’t even realise that there are different varieties of strawberries so we try to work directly with farmers,” she said.
“It’s just a logistical thing for the farmers, it’s really hard for them. They have a lot of varieties going through their packing sheds.”
Mr Hoyle has grown strawberries on the Sunshine Coast for 18 years, most recently a variety called Red Rhapsody, which is a predecessor of the Stella variety.
“Probably 80 per cent of the industry, I believe, is growing with Red Rhapsody and I think Stella might have its place to challenge the Rhapsody,” he said.
The strawberry industry is providing feedback on the trials to grow new varieties. (ABC News: Cam Lang)
“We’re happy with the size, we’re happy with the flavour and for the little bit of rain that we’ve had, it seems to hold up pretty well.
“Sweet flavours are number one for us, it’s got to have that aroma and it’s got to have that sweet taste and then shelf life it’s very important.”
Strawberries are grown in most states in Australia making year-round availability possible.
“We’re really enjoying the cold snap that we’re having at the moment,” Mr Hoyle said.
“It’s really good for strawberries and it really concentrates the sugars and flavour and size is going to be fantastic.”
