A landmark shipment of guava fruit from Taiwan to the USA was completed successfully this January with the help of controlled atmosphere (CA) technology from Daikin Reefer, a leading supplier of refrigeration and climate control solutions for freight containers. Headquartered in Japan, Daikin Reefer is the refrigeration business division of global refrigeration, air conditioning and climate control provider Daikin Industries, Ltd.
Taiwan – dubbed the “Fruit Kingdom” for its ideal growing conditions that support a great variety of tropical fruits – is the first Asian country and just the second in the world after Mexico permitted to export guava to the USA, following an historic agreement signed in October 2019. The trade deal was 10 years in the making, reflecting rigorous US sanitary and phytosanitary protocols to prevent unwanted pests from entering the country, specifically in this case fruit flies.
Daikin Active CA was selected by the shipper to comply with the demanding cold treatment quarantine process while maintaining optimal transport conditions for the premium guava. Cold treatment, used internationally to prevent the spread of fruit flies without the need for pesticides, requires the core pulp of fruit to be maintained consistently below a certain temperature for a specified number of days during transport. In the case of Taiwanese guava, US rules specify that the core of the fruit must be kept below 1 degree Celsius for 17 consecutive days.
