The UK’s exclusive distributor of a new method of maintaining the fry colour of potatoes stored in ethylene-applied stores is preparing for its first full season.
Biofresh Safestore secured the UK marketing rights to StoreGuard in November 2023 following CRD approval and is now actively promoting the approach to UK potato growers and processors based on four years of trial data.
Manufactured by AgroFresh, StoreGuard uses 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) to counter the change in fry colour, that can sometimes occur in potatoes stored for processing when ethylene is used as a sprout inhibitor.
Priced on a cost per tonne, StoreGuard is applied early in the storage process, before ethylene treatment begins. Soluble tablets of StoreGuard are introduced to an activator solution in pouches placed in the store and personnel access is allowed 24 hours after treatment.
As well as maintaining fry colour, StoreGuard can also protect the stored crop from the ‘shock’ of introducing ethylene, reducing transpiration rates, and in turn, weight loss and store fan times.
Jeremy Barraclough of Biofresh Safestore says: “Combining SafeGuard with the ethylene-based Safestore system is a highly effective way of both suppressing sprouting and countering the effects on fry colour that some varieties can experience when treated with ethylene. With both SafeGuard and SafeStore, there is no detectable residue on the potatoes, and the data from the commercial trials conducted under an experimental licence in Europe show the benefits of applying 1-MCP.”
As well as Europe, Biofresh has conducted trials in the UK, including at Winters Lane Storage, which hosted GB Potatoes’ SPot Store day recently. Simon Faulkner, an independent agronomist and director of SDF Agriculture who has been involved in the commercial trials of StoreGuard over the last three years, was one of the speakers at the event.
“StoreGuard has been shown to protect some processing potato varieties against the potential negative effects that ethylene can have on fry-colours,” he said. “Applied before ethylene treatment commences, the benefits of StoreGuard typically last through to April.
