PSD Ethylene licence for potato treatment is a biofresh first

Working closely with Air Products, biofresh – leading innovators in potato storage technology – is the first company to be awarded a UK Pesticide Safety Directorate (PSD) license for the use of ethylene in potato sprout suppression systems.

Richard Barnes, biofresh Managing Director, said: "We are delighted with this news. It supports our development aims and gives reassurance to the industry that biofresh ethylene systems are the most effective future way forward for CIPC- free storage. In effect, biofresh is ahead of the game and is able to provide its products without any potential glitches in waiting for the necessary license following the EU decision."

The use of ethylene (which is found naturally as a plant hormone in fruit) is totally safe for operators, degrades into harmless components under daylight and leaves no residues on produce. It is a proven potato sprout inhibitor, and is rapidly becoming a more attractive alternative to traditional chemical sprout suppressants. Many organisations throughout the supply chain are adopting this new ethical approach to meet retailer and consumer demands for residue-free potatoes.

biofresh "e;off the shelf"e; systems are available for all sizes of single and twin stores. Bespoke systems can be designed for any multi chamber configurations. Last month at the Potatoes in Practice Exhibition in Dundee, biofresh launched a transportable ethylene unit to give store managers greater flexibility when required. All biofresh systems are simple and highly efficient to use. They operate with pure ethylene supplied by Air Products, who work closely with biofresh. biofresh systems require no fussy on site liquid-to-gas conversion, are quick to install and easy to operate. The system has been proved in many field trials and has been in commercial use in stores throughout the UK and worldwide for several years.