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Technology extends produce freshness at sea

SAN DIEGO — The days of wilted lettuce and brown bananas at sea could be numbered.

This winter, the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is serving as a test bed for a simple, innovative storage system that its makers say will keep produce fresh long enough to get the ship to the next underway replenishment.

While training off California recently, the Reagan loaded eight pallets of fruits and vegetables, including six of Romaine and iceberg lettuce, broccoli and bananas stored using Modified Atmosphere Packaging. The system includes plastic bags lined with a proprietary membrane developed by Apio Inc., of Guadalupe, Calif., designed to control the air flow in and out of the package. The remainder of the produce was stored in traditional packaging and served as the control group for the field test.

Overseeing the field trial is the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command in Natick, Mass., which featured the packaging during the recent San Diego “West 2008” conference and expo sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association.

Officials hope to find a way to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, which would mean ships’ crews would have fresh produce at sea at least through the next replenishment, which typically occurs every 10-15 days.

“We know the technology works in the lab. Now, we’re moving it on ships,” said Kathy Evangelos, feeding program integrator at the Combat Feeding Directorate at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center.

The technology would save not only fruits and vegetables but also money that otherwise would be spent replenishing overseas produce stocks. In 2005, the Navy reported $3 million of the $26 million spent that year on fresh fruits and vegetables was lost to spoilage, according to Natick.

‘Tremendous’ potential

Fresh produce can spoil quickly, thanks to ethylene, a gas that’s produced by some fruits and vegetables that helps them ripen. In recent years, scientists and companies have developed technologies for packaging systems that neutralize or remove ethylene from stored fresh fruits and vegetables. NASA has even used a scrubbing device that has kept food and plants healthy on space missions.

Halfway through the monthlong field test aboard the Reagan, the packaging was showing signs of extending shelf life for fresh fruits and vegetables. The test began Jan. 24 and was slated to run until Feb. 20.

“The ability to cut back on that waste is tremendous,” Lt. Ron Hoak, Reagan’s services officer, said by telephone Feb. 13 from the ship as it trained off the California coast. The packaging tested “could extend our need to replenish at least by five to seven days, if not more.”

The packaging is targeted generally at fruits and vegetables — bananas, leafy greens and berries — that tend to spoil more quickly than others such as apples, oranges and potatoes.

“The Romaine lettuce tends to get rubbery as it ages — it wilts. With this packaging, it stayed pretty firm,” Hoak said. By the fifth day underway, “we still have outstanding lettuce in our salad bar.”

Bananas were faring well, too. By the third day, bananas in a traditional package were turning brown, while those packed in the MAP technology remained fresh, firm and yellow-green, and the fruit stayed fresher nearly a week later.

“For a banana lover, this is Christmas year-round,” said Hoak, who admitted to having a sweet tooth for banana bread made from over-ripe fruit.

Reagan’s supply department serves 20,000 meals daily to the 5,000-member crew and can stock 90 days’ worth of refrigerated and dry food.

One factor that ships don’t control is the time spent to get the produce from the supplier to the logistics supply ship, which in turn delivers its cargo to ships at sea. By the time produce arrives on the flight or hangar deck, “it’s difficult for us to gauge how long the items were aboard” the supply ship, Hoak said.

“Depending on the produce, this can mean that the shelf life will only be two to three days before the product must be surveyed due to deterioration or being unfit for consumption,” he added.

Measures that extend the shelf life of fresh produce are likely to be embraced by shipboard sailors, whose at-sea meal options have become healthier with the Navy’s standard core menu.

For several months, Reagan’s crew has been dining on the 14-day menu designed for big-deck ships, which includes more salad bar items and daily services of skinless chicken breasts. “The whole goal of the menu is to try to increase the healthy choices for our crew,” Hoak said.

Sailors exercising regularly and focusing on getting into better shape are more attuned to what they eat while at sea, he said.

“If you can’t provide a healthy choice for people to eat, I think that leads to discouragement,” Hoak added.