PRESS RELEASE Now it’s fun even longer: In keeping with the citrus season, Edeka is expanding its Apeel BB #:345580 range with two more fruits.
At the start of the year, grapefruits and lemons also receive the plant-based Apeel protective coat. The longer-lasting vitamin C miracles are now available throughout Germany at Edeka, Marktkauf and Netto Marken-Discount.
They are the newest members of the Apeel range after avocados, oranges, clementines and mandarins. The Edeka network is thus expanding its commitment to increasingly sustainable ranges and is once again setting a sign in the fight against food waste.
According to the Food Report 2020 of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), 12 million tons of total or about 75 kilograms of food per person are disposed of in Germany every year[1]
How Apeel works
Whether strawberries, peaches or tomatoes – every fruit or vegetable has a skin or a bowl that protects it and keeps it fresh. The Apeel formula of plant origin gives the surface of fresh products a kind of second skin, which acts like an additional protective coat.
The Apeel protective layer ensures that less water from the inside can evaporate through the actual shell and at the same time less oxygen can penetrate from the outside.
An optimal microclimate is created under the second skin: the fruit can continue to breathe while the maturation process slows down considerably. This means that Apeel products stay fresh for longer – with an unchanged enjoyment experience, as neither the taste nor the smell of the food is affected.
The shelf life of the products is significantly extended by Apeel – with consistently high quality. At the beginning of 2020, a pilot trial in 2,900 Edeka markets and net stores over twelve weeks showed that the amount of avocados that had to be sorted out in the market was reduced by 50 percent thanks to Apeel, while customer demand in the participating markets increased significantly.
Apeel is an innovative process developed by the US company Apeel. Vegetable fats – lipids and glycerolipids – are used, which are contained in the skins, seeds and pulp of all fruits and vegetables. Accordingly, the Apeel protective layer consists of components that are also consumed regularly as part of a normal diet. Thus, Apeel differs in principle from approaches in which a synthetically produced sugar derivative is applied.
How Apeel helps the environment
By extending the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables, the edible Apeel protective cover helps reduce food waste along the entire supply chain right down to households. In addition, plastic packaging is also saved during transport and retail. Together, the Edeka association and Apeel are working to bring other fruit and vegetable varieties to the market with Apeel in Germany, thus contributing to the appreciation of food and the conservation of natural resources.
About Apeel
Apeel is committed to creating a more sustainable global food system by using the power of nature to make products last longer and thus combat food waste from producers to suppliers to retailers. Apeel products last twice longer thanks to plant protection from substances found in the shells and seeds of all fruits and vegetables. Apeel’s protective additional “shell” slows down water loss and oxidation, which generally cause products to spoil. Apeel is available for organic and conventionally grown products and the company is expanding into an ever-increasing number of categories and markets. Apeel reduces environmental impact and gives everyone more time to distribute or enjoy fresh products throughout the supply chain, from the producer to the retailer to the consumer. Apeel optimizes the freshness of food. Apeel is a trademark/registered trademark of Apeel Technology, Inc. in the United States, the European Union and other countries. For more information, contact apeel.com.
[1] https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Broschueren/ernaehrungsreport-2020.html
