Longer shelf life for fruits and vegetables with Bio-Wax from Hayleys ‘Govi Aruna Naturals’

Bio-Wax approved by the Department of Agriculture is a novel formulation developed by the Industrial Technology Institute of Sri Lanka.

Bio-Wax is an edible coating and has been produced with the use of nano-technology and comprises of beeswax, cinnamon bark oil, and other natural ingredients in order to improve the shelf life and the very appearance when applied on fruits and vegetables.

The formulation of Bio-Wax was an international collaborative research program in association with the University of Guelph in Canada backed by the Government of Canada. Hayleys Agriculture Holdings Ltd., the leading agriculture input provider and trailblazer in introducing many ground-breaking new technologies on a commercial scale in Sri Lanka, initiated and facilitated the commercial development of Bio-Wax.

This edible wax is currently marketed by Hayleys Agriculture under the Govi Aruna Naturals brand and is taking the fruit and vegetable export industry by storm.

Bio-Wax not only improves the appearance but also through its slow release mechanism of the natural anti-senescence and anti-microbial agents moderates the release of moisture, delays ripening and minimises spoilage and thereby aids in improving the shelf life of the fruits. At the product testing stage it was evident that upon application of this bio wax soon after harvest, the shelf life of certain fruits was improved to last 14-20 days in cool room temperature and seven to 10 days in normal room temperature.

Damage to fruits that are exported and the exporter having to bear the cost of airfreight plus the loss of orders had become commonplace in the fruit and vegetable export industry in Sri Lanka. This has discouraged and constrained our fruit and vegetable exporters to either continue or expand their business. However, the situation is changing with the introduction of Bio-Wax.

Today manyfruit and vegetable exporters in Sri Lanka are using this Bio-Wax on papaya, pineapples and king coconuts in order to minimise rejects and ensure that their products would last longer and get to the destination without over-ripening and spoiling.

At a recent interview, an exporter of fruits to Doha stated that he is using Bio-Wax from Hayleys on pineapples and that he is extremely happy with the product. “In the past, my consignments used to get rejected and I have had to bear the entire cost of airfreight. I almost gave up exporting and then I heard about Bio-Wax which is marketed by Hayleys. I have been using the product for some time now and I have not faced rejects so far,” he stated. 

Another exporter who sends regular consignments of king coconuts and pumpkin to the UK has a similar success story to relate. “I am now looking at exporting king coconuts to Switzerland and Germany because I can rely on the product,” he stated.   

King coconut seemed to be the product in the export market these days that are subject to rejects because of over-ripening. Bio-Wax from Hayleys has come to the rescue of the exporters in few instances after the recent launch of the product. “The king coconuts look fresh, Bio-Wax prevents breakage and therefore reduces damages,” stated an exporter who sends his consignment to the Middle East.

One of the largest supermarket chains and several key fruit and vegetable exporters are already testing Bio-Wax to improve shelf life and quality of their produce. Bio-Wax has currently proven to work well on papaya, mangoes, king coconuts, pineapples, pumpkin, limes and citrus type fruits. Further research is currently being carried out to develop the formulation to be used on a range of other fruits and vegetables.