Company creates machine that claims to stop avocados going brown
Avocados are super tasty and addictive, but it's pretty annoying when they go yucky and brown.
Now an Australian-based company called Naturo Technologies thinks they've got the answer, creating a technology that slows down the browning process of avocados, without the use of chemicals.
Called the Natavo Zero, the inventor of the technology is agricultural engineer Jeff Hastings. He was frustrated at the amount of wastage when it comes to consuming and processing avocados, since they go brown easily.
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"It's one of those fruits that you buy and eat where you inherently suffer disappointment, because it's already gone brown or it goes to waste," Hastings told Mashable Australia.
Hastings explains that the technology works by "turning off" a particular enzyme in the avocado fruit, which causes it to turn brown when it's exposed to oxygen.
All one would need to do is feed the "avocado time machine" open avocados -- whether it be sliced, diced or halved -- onto the conveyor belt where it will be treated for 5-6 minutes. The company claims avocados will stay fresh for 10 days after the process.
Hastings wouldn't reveal the actual mechanism which stops the enzyme in the fruit, as it's part of their intellectual property, but explained the machine uses a combination of pressure, temperature, steam and time to switch off the enzyme.
The company is selling two models at the moment, one that processes 250 kilograms (551 lbs) an hour, or one that does 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs) an hour. Yes, these machines are aimed at large-scale food makers.
Sadly for those of us playing at home, we'll have to stick to squirting lemon juice on our avocados for the time being. But Hastings said there is a possibility for the technology to be replicated for consumer use, it's just they're aiming for other businesses first.
"Our focus is definitely on the industry, [to those] who provide a finished product to consumers, like fast food restaurants or airlines. However, it's not impossible for us to develop a consumer scale product in future," he said.
Anything to stop leftover guacamole from being ruined, hey?
