It’s Fresh! - the ethylene management technology that keeps fruit fresh for longer - has been rolled out to avocados for the first time in the UK.

It’s Fresh! strips started to be added to Tesco avocado twin-packs in November and are now in use in Tesco Express stores throughout the UK.

The move comes after Tesco and its supplier Worldwide Fruit ran a year-long trial of It’s Fresh! on avocados, and follows the rollout of the technology to Tesco Finest tomatoes in May.

It’s Fresh! works by absorbing ethylene - a gas that causes fruit to ripen - slowing down the ripening process.

“We have been using It’s Fresh! in our supply chain throughout this year to help keep the fruit in good condition during storage,” said Worldwide Fruit technical director Tony Harding.

To date, the packaging technology has been used exclusively by Marks & Spencer and Tesco in the UK.

However, It’s Fresh! director Simon Lee said it was about to be trialled by another of the major mults on raspberries for two weeks over Christmas, although he would not say who the retailer was.

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