Freshness and safety from packaging - the Belle Green Wise challenge

The power of AURA PACK

Belle Green Wise was spun off from Belle Kasugai in 2005 as a business specializing in the planning and sale of freshness preservation film for fruit and vegetables.

The motives behind our striving for freshness maintenance from our conception have been our wish to provide consumers with safe fruit and vegetables, they can eat with peace of mind, to reduce the needless waste of produce, and to contribute toward the earth environment.

And ever since, we have been channeling our knowhow as a fruit and vegetable packaging specialist into the provision of high quality products and services, and addressing product development in response to the needs of our customers with the technical strengths in development cultivated over the years, and our ability to make sound proposals.

And in 2009, the fruits of our labor led to the high-freshness preservation film “AURA Pack”, a ground-breaking original product designed to preserve freshness by inhibiting the physiological actions of fruit and vegetables themselves.

The Immeasurable power of AURA Pack

Test environment: room temperature storage of average temperature at 25°C, humidity 40%

Test object: broccoli

On the left is the broccoli wrapped with AURA Pack film

On the right is the broccoli wrapped in standard film

After 3 hours, water droplets begin to appear on the inside of the standard film packaging on the right.

After 21 hours, immediate discoloration is visible on the broccoli wrapped in standard film packaging.

However, the broccoli wrapped in AURA Packaging remains its original status of freshness and green color.

After 48 hours, there is striking difference between the broccoli in AURA Pack film and the one in standard film packaging.

AURA Pack film packaging makes big differences to keep product fresh

Feature 1: Inhibit evaporation -

Once fruit and vegetables have been harvested, moisture tends to transpire before spreading out sufficiently to all areas. With standard packaging, water molecules bond to form groups making it difficult for moisture to circulate. The result of evaporation is that the surface of fruit and vegetables from which moisture has transpired begins to lose its color and wilt.

But with AURA Pack, the molecular activity effect of AURA Pack ensures that any groups of bonded water molecules that form are broken up into single molecules.

This break-up into singular molecules ensures that water molecules circulate smoothly throughout fruit and vegetables to inhibit transpiration. Moisture is therefore retained, and freshness is preserved.

Feature 2: Excess respiration -

Fruit and vegetables continue to breathe after being harvested. This means that oxidation begins inside the bag, resulting in excessive release of carbon dioxide.

The optimum environment for fruit and vegetables inside bags is 5 to 10% and 10 to 15% carbon dioxide.

Effect of Respirational control is obviously to be observed. A graph showing changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide in an experiment using raw shiitake as object.

With standard packaging, there is zero oxygen on the third day. This shows the excessive respiration occurred. As well as the carbon dioxide concentration is 37%.

With AURA Pack, however, excessive respiration is inhibited, and so on the fifth day we find that we have ideal environment consisting of roughly 5% oxygen and 15% carbon dioxide.

Through the molecular activity effect, AURA Pack inhibits excessive respiration caused by freshness degradation by preventing tissue damage (deterioration in freshness) after harvesting.

In other words, we can say that while fruit and vegetables have trouble breathing in regular packaging, in AURA Pack, they are able to breathe calmly.

Feature 3: Outstanding anti-fogging properties –

Conditions of high temperature and high humidity are created as product moisture evaporates inside the bags of fruit and vegetables. In response to this, AURA Pack’s high anti-fogging properties are able to suppress the generation of water droplets inside bags. This test of using hot water to investigate film anti-fogging properties assuming the transpiration of steam. Boiling water was poured into two beakers, one covered with AURA Pack, and the other with standard packaging film.

The standard packaging film fogs up straight away, making it difficult to see inside.

AURA Pack, on the other hand, does not fog up, allowing clear visibility inside the beaker.

It is clear from this test that AURA Pack has much superior anti-fogging properties. This not only provides esthetic benefits, but also helps preventing damage to products caused by water droplet adhesion. The numerous functions of AURA Pack help bring to the table products that satisfy customers.

Feature 4: Safety and reliability –

AURA Pack consists only of substances that satisfy food hygiene requirements, ensuring safety and peace of mind. Moreover, tests were conducted on a variety of fruit and vegetables, and freshness preservation tests carried out at various research institutes to ensure that the highest standards of quality control are met.

Feature 5: Price rationality –

AURA Pack may have high freshness preservation capabilities, but it costs roughly 1.5 to 2 times that of standard film. Depending on how it’s used and what it’s used for, AURA Pack is reasonably priced in comparison to other freshness preservation film products.

AURA Pack is the best way to keep fruit and vegetable fresh for a much longer time. From standardized products such as greens, fruits, flowers and cut vegetables, to original order made products, AURA Pack offers various sizes to meet all demands.

This break-up into singular molecules ensures that water molecules circulate smoothly throughout fruit and vegetables to inhibit transpiration.

What’s more, the AURA Pack series includes AURA Pack SH, the optimum packaging for vegetables that respire intensely such as cucumbers, broccoli, edamame, and new potatoes.

AURA Pack Wrap is particularly recommended for shiitake and king oyster mushrooms and perfect for distribution, stores and household applications as well as original product for machine packaging rolls. AURA Pack is a reliable packaging solution to keep fruit and vegetables fresh anywhere.

Testimonials from AURA Pack users:

JA Toyohasi, Omura Horticulture Subcommittee, the producer:

“With conventional packaging, leaves tend to lose their color and wilt in summertime, prompting claims from those in charge at markets. Obviously, we want to deliver high-quality vegetables to market, and so we decided to try AURA Pack. After starting to use AURA Pack, we saw a decrease in discoloration and wilting, and our produce was lasting much longer. Compared with no packaging at all, products lasted for around 7 days. And even compared to conventional packaging, we found that we got an extra 2 to 3 days shelf life, leading to a drop in claims from the market. We are now able to ship the vegetables we labored over in good condition. I am very pleased.”

With the diversification in eating habits and food culture, we are seeing an increase in apportunities to expand into overseas markets, meaning that we are likely to see “freshness preservation” playing an increasingly important rol in our fruit and vegetables.

As a professional in the fruit and vegetable packaging field, we at Belle Green Wise aim to continue to produce useful products and become a company that can contribute to society.

And by developing unique products and employing our ability to make sound proposals, we aim to accurately identify the needs of the times to create new markets.

Belle Green Wise, to meet your freshness expectations!

Belle Green Wise Company History

• 1970 - Belle Kasugai Co., Ltd. established.
• 1975 - Entered packaging materials industry as agent of Asahi Kasei Industries Co., Ltd. (now Asahi Kasei Corporation) selling “OPS film” mainly for agricultural products.
• 1982 - Became agent of Toyoboseki Co., Ltd. (now Toyobo Co., Ltd.) selling “F&G film” (defogging film).
• 2005 – Belle Green Wise Co., Ltd. established in spin-off from Belle Kasugai Co., Ltd.
• 2009 – Launched own original high-freshness preservation film “AURA Pack”.