Putting Veneto radicchio on the plates of restaurants in China, Australia and Japan is Project EcoOrt’s goal. The problem is overcoming the complicated logistics of intercontinental transport for this prized leafy vegetable. EcoOrt’s working on a new, more eco-friendly cooling technique that uses ozone for shipping and keeping it on the shelf while boosting produce quality. The first trial run will be to Moscow, where it will debut at World Food Moscow 2014.
«Passive cooling – said Paolo Manzan, President of the Pgi Treviso Red and Veined Castelfranco Radicchio – makes it possible to keep produce at temperatures near 0°C without ventilation and at higher moisture levels than under normal refrigeration. It will also ensure longer shelf-life for produce subject to dehydration like radicchio so it will retain optimum quality conditions while reaching markets that otherwise would be out of normal range because of prohibitive air-freight costs. Cooling via ionisation even cuts energy inputs since it does without electricity-powered cold-store containers. Then too there’s no need for any chemical treatments, so the produce is healthier as it’s free of mould or bacteria growth».
