Westfalia and AgroSustain bring Afondo edible coating to Fruit Attraction 2025

At this year’s Fruit Attraction in Madrid, Westfalia Fruit will highlight its partnership with Swiss agri-tech company AgroSustain, showcasing Afondo, an edible coating that is transforming postharvest handling of avocados and other fruit.

Afondo is a food-grade coating based on bio-vegetable oils and emulsifiers. It forms an invisible barrier that reduces water loss during transport by up to 50%, extends cold storage up to a month, and increases shelf-life at retail between 2 and 8 days, depending on the crop.

What sets Afondo apart is its firm and well-adhered barrier, which limits oxygen exchange on the fruit surface. This suppresses fungal pathogens and allows postharvest fungicide use to be reduced by 50–100 per cent, depending on the commodity.

Afondo is designed to address two of the main challenges in the fresh produce supply chain: water loss and fungal decay, helping growers and distributors deliver fresher, longer-lasting fruit while meeting strict residue requirements.

Expanding applications and benefits

Afondo is already approved for use on conventional crops in Europe, Latin America, Africa, the US and several Asian markets. It is applied to fruit such as banana, mango, avocado, passion fruit and papaya, and is expanding to citrus, nectarines and other high-value perishables. It is also used on ornamental flowers such as roses and hydrangeas.

The coating is simple to apply using existing packhouse infrastructure, via standard spraying or dipping units, with no need for major new investment. Key benefits include:

• Replacing air transport with sea freight, reducing carbon footprint

• Cutting food waste by up to 50%

• Reducing water loss during transport and storage by up to 70%

• Significantly lowering plastic packaging use

Partnership with Westfalia

By collaborating with Westfalia Fruit, AgroSustain is trialling Afondo specifically on avocados, one of the most sensitive fruits in terms of postharvest losses. According to Westfalia, the partnership opens new opportunities for local and international growers and distributors to extend shelf-life while reducing reliance on chemical treatments.

Wim Destoop, Westfalia’s chief customer officer, states:

"Fruit Attraction is one of the most important stages for our industry, and this year we are proud to showcase the innovations that will shape the avocado category for decades to come. From breeding the avocados of the future to developing sustainable supply chain solutions and collaborating with our customers, we are committed to driving growth in a way that benefits consumers, retailers, and growers alike."

About AgroSustain

AgroSustain develops sustainable solutions to preserve quality and availability of fresh produce. Starting with Afondo, its portfolio of edible coatings provides a natural alternative to conventional postharvest treatments. The company works closely with leading growers and packhouses worldwide, first conducting pilot trials to validate efficacy, then moving to tailored commercial agreements adapted to specific operations.

Its mission is to reduce food waste and support a more sustainable fresh produce supply chain by helping growers meet stringent maximum residue limits (MRLs) while ensuring longer shelf-life and fresher products for consumers.

Source: Fruitnet.com