Matt Aronson champions iceless broccoli with Sobeys’ Tom Pierce

The Grower Calling

Verdant Technologies Inc. has figured out how to use 1-MCP, an ethylene inhibitor, to keep broccoli fresh from field to fork. The new technology – a sheet placed in each box in the field -- is extending shelf life for a fragile commodity to seven to 10 days. How quickly the innovation is adopted depends on acceptance through the entire value chain. That’s where Sobeys is testing the practicalities from broccoli grower through its distribution centre in Boucherville, Québec to the grocery store. The Grower is Digging Deeper behind the September 2024 cover story and speaking with Matt Aronson, Verdant Technologies and Tom Pierce, Sobeys, in Laval, Québec.