Japan’s government is spotlighting a post-harvest trick that sounds almost too simple: hit harvested fruit and vegetables with a brief flash of near-infrared light, and they stay fresher longer. The technology, branded iR Fresh (iRフレッシュ®) by Shikoku Research Institute, is the centerpiece of a recent JapanGov FoodTech post.

The idea is not magic packaging. According to JapanGov and the institute, a strong source around 850 nm for roughly 0.1-0.2 seconds is enough to trigger plant defenses. Produce reads the intense near-IR as a cold or dry warning, lowers respiration and water loss through transpiration, and becomes less inviting to mold.

JapanGov and the company call the lettuce finding a “world first”. That label is marketing. The scientific anchor is peer-reviewed work, including Kozuki et al. in Postharvest Biology and Technology (2015), which documented reduced lettuce leaf transpiration after near-IR exposure.

Lead researchers named on JapanGov are KAKIBUCHI Kazumasa and HADA Ayako, both PhDs in agricultural science at Shikoku Research Institute (a Shikoku Electric Power Group R&D arm in Takamatsu). The system is designed for sorting and collection lines without requiring a rewrite of the packing process.

Irradiation units are manufactured and sold by Mitsui Kinzoku Keisokuki Ko. The company says citrus sorting facilities numbered 31 as of FY2024 (a self-reported figure). JapanGov also notes a steady stream of overseas inquiries, although we have not seen specific foreign deals appear in the sourced material.

JapanGov’s photo captions claim strawberries stayed mold-free for 10 days and mandarins for 20 (great but not yet backed by 3rd party testing). A Japanese patent, JP6683338B2, covers NIR freshness methods in the 800-1000 nm band. A compact field and greenhouse unit is under development, per JapanGov – useful if growers want treatment earlier than the packing house.

Food waste is already a familiar consumer-tech theme on Ubergizmo, from Panasonic’s AI fridge camera to Sony SWIR food inspection.

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