United Fresh Services is a specialist in the ripening of bananas and ready-to-eat fruit
Ripening services
As a banana ripener, United Fresh Services uses knowledge and supply chain information to deliver tailored services. In this way bottlenecks in the complete fresh chain improve and continuity is ensured.
The journey, that bananas and ready to eat fruit make from farm to fork, is centrally coordinated with the ripening of fruit as core business. The supply chain is optimized thanks to support in strategic sourcing, extensive support in logistics, customs clearance, quality monitoring and planning.
Consequently, United Fresh Services is as a distributor also a partner for container arrivals, palletizing, re-stacking, storing, packing and monitoring of fresh fruit. In the end, a transparent and long-term partnership determine the success of ripe fruit and shelf life.
A central location
Fruits, as delicate as bananas, need to reach the stores as soon as possible after leaving the ripening facilities. The success of ‘ripe and ready’ fruit, like mangos, avocados and kiwis, is best realized from a central location with respect to the location of the distribution center.
Accordingly, United Fresh Services established the ripening chambers in IJsselmuiden, a very strategic point in the Netherlands with favorable inland connection and quick access to all (inter)national highways.
Ripening facilities
By 2014, United Fresh Services is the most modern ripening accommodation in the Netherlands, with 32 ripening rooms and a capacity of 41,472 banana boxes. Optimizations through the full supply chain directly give the flexibility to increase the ripening capacity by 40% towards 60.000 boxes.
The inventory is optimally managed by the ‘Controlled Atmosphere’ ripening chambers and Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) storage and ripening systems. Special storage systems extend the shelf life of a banana, because the maturation process is being delayed, allowing the fruit to remain fresh, beautifully yellow and well flavored. Which results in more flexibility and a reduction of food waste.
32 modern
ripening rooms
Ripening capacity
up to 60.000 boxes
Flexible storage
through climate control
Daily maturity checks
Upon arrival the fruit is submitted to quality checks in a conditioned research area. The banana ripening process is monitored throughout the week by daily ripening checks on ripeness, quality, temperature and color evolution. Bananas can mature in any desired color, based on statistics and appropriate experience. The client indicates when the fruit is ‘ripe and ready’.
2completely
green
3more green
than yellow
4more yellow
than green
5yellow with
green tips
6completely
yellow
7yellow with
brown dots
Good Fruit
In the vision of United Fresh Services a sustainable supply chain gives the best result. Openness is necessary for good fruit of high quality and committed partners are essential. The banana ripeners attempt to control sector-threatening diseases such as the Black Sigatoka and the Panama disease in close collaboration with the University of Wageningen. Together with various producers and institutions different tests are executed in mutual fruit researches, in search for innovations.