What is Ethylene?

It is a natural plant hormone produced and emitted by fruits, vegetables and flowers – responsible for triggering the ripening process. This tigger is initiated when ethylene molecules around fresh produce bind to ethylene receptors on the fresh produce.

Build-up of ethylene accelerates this ripening, within and amongst other fresh produce close by, resulting in flavour, taste, texture and aroma developing, but also ultimately leading to spoilage.

2 Carbon atoms + 4 Hydrogen atoms = C2H4

  • C2H4

    As fresh produce respires ethylene is one of the by-products emitted. As respiration rates increase so does the output of ethylene which creates a cascading ripening cycle which intensifies over time.

  • C2H4

    Ethylene molecules: easily diffuse through most membrane due to their size, enabling them to bind with ethylene receptors located on fresh produce.

The plant hormone ethylene

It is integral to plant life; it has many uses including breaking of seed dormancy, flower initiation, abscission of leaves and flowers, fruit and vegetable ripening, senescence as well as a response to stresses (wounding, chilling, flooding, UV damage and rotting pathogens).

 

Throughout the supply-chain: stress events and temperature changes compound the challenges associated with ethylene. If unmanaged post-harvest it can lead to increased concentrations in storage, transit and inside retail packs – leading to accelerated and uncontrolled ripening and ultimately a loss of shelf-life.

Ethylene and fresh produce

All vegetation produce and emit ethylene – a natural plant hormone; which reacts and binds with ethylene receptors within plant cells. In the case of fruits and vegetables, when this binding occurs the ethylene receptors will trigger numerous biochemical pathways associated with ripening – accelerating this process with increased exposure.

 

This results in fresh produce developing flavour, taste, aroma, colour and texture; too much though leads to over-ripening and spoilage. As fruits and vegetables mature or become stressed, they produce and emit an increasing amount of ethylene. This results in higher ethylene concentrations which further increases the ethylene receptor binding rate.

 

This issue is further compounded, because even if just one item of fresh produce is emitting ethylene, this will initiate ripening within and amongst surrounding fresh produce. Therefore, ethylene’s impact on fruits and vegetables heightens the riper they become eventually leading to rotting and spoilage.

How it works

Ethylene & food loss / waste

Approximately 20-30% of all fruits and vegetables are lost post-harvest up to, but not including the retail level (www.fao.org, 2019). This underlines the scale of the problem, with retail waste further undermining the sustainability of our food system. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce that food – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – also go to waste.

 

This has a cascading effect, increasing instances of drought, deforestation, food insecurity and emissions (www.fao.org, 2019). To address this central issue after refrigeration and cold-chain, managing ethylene is the most critical. With cold-chain alone, c.50% of fresh produce is wasted annually, but with effective ethylene moderation, we can reduce that waste by at least half.

 

At RYPEN we believe we have the missing element to reduce fresh produce waste even further and the associated challenges. In 2023 alone RYPEN saved 450 tonnes of fresh produce, 226 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions and 316 million litres of water.

 

www.fao.org. (2019). SOFA 2019 – The State of Food and Agriculture in the World. [online] Available at: https://www.fao.org/interactive/state-of-food-agriculture/2019/en/.

RYPEN Benefits

Controlling ethylene’s effects

Unmanaged ethylene accumulates during storage, transit even within retail packs. This causes accelerated ripening and reduces shelf-life, for this reason ethylene was always seen as a problem to be eradicated or combatted at any expense.

 

However, inhibiting ethylene receptors isn’t the answer either as this prevents the produce from fully developing – resulting in a poor eating experience for the consumer, high domestic waste and a negative impact on repeat purchase. Therefore, the key to striking the perfect balance is ethylene moderation; this provides all the benefits of natural ripening but in a controlled manner which alleviates time constraints.

 

RYPEN selectively adsorbs ethylene molecules, drawing these from the air into its molecular structure, then binding and locking them within – a process far stronger than absorption alone. It has been specially designed to only capture ethylene molecules enabling RYPEN to efficiently moderate exposure levels for long periods. Due to RYPEN’s food contact approval, its efficacy is further enhanced because its able to work in close proximity to fresh produce.

RYPEN Products

FAQs

Specific ethylene FAQ’s are below.  All FAQs are available here.