In early May, the Coexphal Technological Innovation Centre in La Mojonera (Almería) hosted a technical session organised by Sanifruit on vegetable postharvest.
Antonio Mena, Regional Agriculture Delegate, opened the event by highlighting that Almería’s fruit and vegetable sector is Europe’s ‘garden,’ with crops like pepper, cucumber and tomato leading exports and consumption. In 2024/25, peppers reached 600 million kg.
Mena stressed the need for alternative solutions such as those offered by Sanifruit, which, through postharvest solutions based on natural extracts, help exporting companies reduce active substances, extend shelf life, and reduce destination claims. Requirements and expectations are evolving towards new, residue-free horizons.
Juan Carlos Pérez, co-director of the Coexphal-UAL Chair, discussed the need for environmental, economic and social sustainability, and the potential use of AI. He also highlighted the sector’s strong cooperativism and its importance in Almería, and noted that Coexphal will soon celebrate 50 years defending and promoting the sector.
Juan Luis Valenzuela, Professor of Plant Physiology at UAL, spoke about how the quality of fruit and vegetable products translates into customer satisfaction, and pointed out issues like the lack of consumer awareness regarding food waste, which, according to FAO figures, amounts to around 6.1 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables. Another factor is supply chain management, as improper postharvest handling can lead to significant production losses.
Proven solutions
As a postharvest expert in tomato, Sandra Mañas, Sanifruit’s Innovation Technician, shared trial results for SaniTomato in CampoJoyma crops. She presented a simulation of losses in kilos and euros for a company with an average 3.5% tomato shrinkage. She explained the main issues that affect tomato (fungi, bacteria and physiological disorders), and how Sanifruit works to inhibit or reduce rotting, dehydration or cracking. This is achieved through the use of Silcover in preharvest—a protective biostimulant based on orthosilicic acid—and SaniTomato postharvest, which prevents rot, dehydration and stem deterioration.
In CampoJoyma, water washing combined with the application of SaniTomato led to a 50% reduction in rot and a 45.5% decrease in dehydration.
From the Technology Department of Tecnova, Rebeca Ramos and Laura Hidalgo demonstrated the correct handling of peppers for successful postharvest. The study, carried out on red and yellow peppers with SaniPepper, showed that the combined effect of disinfection, rinsing and treatment with SaniPepper reduced Botrytis infection by 48.1%, and Erwinia infection was inhibited by 45.5%. As noted by Sanifruit, the ideal approach is to wash, apply a controlled disinfectant, and then use SaniPepper.
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Hidalgo also presented data on courgette, a strategic crop in Almería. Its main issues include fungal rot, bacterial infections, loss of firmness, dehydration and cold damage—all of which are mitigated by treatment with SaniCchini.
Finally, Miguel Ángel Serrano, Sales Technician for the Andalusia Delegation, and Javier Biel, CEO of Sanifruit, introduced the Postharvest Programme. With it, Sanifruit has spent over 37 years helping growers and exporters extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables, improve appearance, reduce complaints, increase customer and consumer satisfaction, and boost profitability.
