Fresh Notes: Packhouse Action Group (PAG) Meeting
Held on 31 October 2019
Moratorium on High-Cube Containers
Contact: Andy Connell
- The Department of Transport intends to extend the moratorium on high-cube containers for another 18 months (until 30 June 2021).
- A study into the safety of high-cube containers is still pending.
- Another meeting of the working group will be convened to agree on the way forward and ensure the extension is gazetted.
Revised Steri Market Protocols for Newer Cultivars
Contact: Henk Griessel
- Commercial trials at a shipping temperature of 1°C have been successful.
- A meeting will be held with PPECB to revise the protocols.
Load-shedding and Load Out Temperatures
- PAG has applied for a dispensation for another season.
- Dispensation applies to the possible build-up of uncooled or partially cooled fruit at cold stores due to load-shedding.
- Maximum load out temperature tolerance:
- Apples: +3.0°C
- Winter pears: +2.0°C
- (Presently set point plus 2.0°C, which normally equates to a tolerance of +1.5°C)
- Dispensation applies only in the case of power cuts and must be verified with the local PPECB inspector.
- Not applicable to summer pears due to quality risks.
Plastics Strategy
Contact: Dr Malcolm Dodd / Bryce McIntyre
- The Plastic Group developed a plastic matrix based on Tesco’s red, amber, and green categorisation for packaging.
- Members met with the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which drives the Plastic Pact for a circular economy.
- Fruit SA plans to become an associate member of the SA Plastic Pact, including local retailers.
- The Plastic Pact is scheduled to launch in late January in Cape Town.
Industry Strategy Should:
- Become a member of the SA Plastic Pact
- Accept and endorse the WRAP classification and its implementation
- Strive for plastic-free solutions
- Implement policies to satisfy major future markets
- Encourage suppliers to adopt a circular plastic economy
WRAP’s 2025 Targets:
- Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use packaging through design, innovation, or alternatives
- 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable
- 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted
- 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging
Latest Fresh Quarterly
Featured articles:
- 50 Years of plastics
- Sustainable plastic manufacturing
- Join the circular plastic economy
- The rise of edible coatings
- New and completed plastic research projects
- Plastic packaging categories in the fruit industry
Sodium ortho-phenylphenate (SOPP)
Contact: Bernardus Henning
- MRL for apples: 0.01 ppm; pears: 20 ppm
- Check that none of your products contain SOPP as a by-product/additive, whether declared or not.
- PPECB conducted 14,000 fruit residue tests; miniscule exceedances on SOPP, none on deciduous fruit.
- 91 swab samples from various surfaces; only one wall sample had minimal residue.
- All chemical cleaning agents at container depots tested negative.
- All pallet samples at packhouses had SOPP residues, despite protocols specifying no SOPP treatments of pallets.
- This will be addressed with pallet manufacturers.
- Have your pallets tested and document procedures specifying risk allocation in case of SOPP rejection.
CA Meeting Presentations
Contact: Richard Hurndall
PAG Disciplines and Coordinators
Please contact the relevant person if you have any queries regarding the PAG.
- Chairman: Koos Bouwer (bouweb@orangenet.co.za)
- Engineering: Henk Ryke (henk@tad.co.za), Koos Bouwer (bouweb@orangenet.co.za)
- Packaging: Dr Malcolm Dodd (malcolm@alaceraer.co.za), Bryce MacIntyre (bryce.macintyre@kaapagri.co.za)
- Environmental Footprint: Eddie Vienings (eddie@bluenorth.co.za), Hugh Campbell (hugh@hortgro.co.za)
- Packhouse Large: Dawid Malan (dawid@tad.co.za), Francois Malan (francois.malan@cfg.co.za), Willem Coetzee (willem@dutoit.com)
- Packhouse Small: Hendrik Claassen (hendrik@bellafrutta.co.za), Vacancy
- Post-Harvest Quality: Dr Elke Crouch (elke@sun.ac.za), Henk Griessel (henkg@tru-cape.co.za), Jaco Moelich (jaco.moelich@fruitways.co.za)
- Logistics: Johan Strydom (pslog@mweb.co.za), Andy Connell (andy@abarc.co.za)
- Communication Strategy: Richard Hurndall (hurndallr@gmail.com), Koos Bouwer (bouweb@orangenet.co.za), Elise-Marie Steenkamp (elise-marie@hortgro.co.za)
- PPECB: Bernardus Henning (bernardush@ppecb.com)
- FPEF: Werner van Rooyen (werner@fpef.co.za)
- DAFF:
- Director: Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Billy Makhafola (BillyM@daff.gov.za)
- Regional Manager: NPPPIS WC Directorate: Inspection Services, Gcobani Tsako (GcobaniT@daff.gov.za)
- Hortgro: Jacques du Preez (jacques@hortgro.co.za), Lindi Benic (lindi@hortgro.co.za)