Having worked in the fresh produce industry for 15 years, entrepreneur and managing director of the Pacco Group, Leanne Wesche, has developed the first in a range of products designed to make fruit and vegetables cleaner and safer to eat.
Ms Wesche said the new product, Fruit & Veggie Wash, released through her company, Safeguard, cleans fruit and vegetables more thoroughly that rinsing with water, removing trapped dirt particles, agricultural chemicals, waxes and bacteria.
Ms Wesche has spent the past two years developing the product with scientists and food technologists. It is made with all-natural, organic ingredients including olive leaf extracts and essential oils.
Testing found that washing fresh produce with the Fruit & Veggie Wash is up to 100 times more effective than washing with water alone, removing trapped dirt particles and other contaminants.
Ms Wesche said at least 20 pairs of hands would touch fresh produce in between harvesting and the home, exposing it to various contaminants.
“Agricultural chemicals and waxes are designed to be waterproof, so water doesn’t remove them,” Ms Wesche told WA Business News.
Market research found that nine out of 10 consumers were concerned about, or were aware of, issues surrounding the quality and safety standards of imported produce, she said.
Formally launched in WA this week, the Fruit & Veggie Wash has already made its way into the international market, after a successful showing at the Food And Hotel Asia trade show in Singapore late last month led to immediate orders into seven countries.
Ms Wesche said she was working on developing a whole range of fruit and vegetable wash products, including a diluted spray, wipes and sachets for travellers. Also in the pipeline are washes for other fresh products, such as fish and meat.
The Pacco Group is WA’s largest fruit and vegetable packing house, packing 80,000 pieces of produce each day, almost 95 per cent of which is grown locally.
Ms Wesche is on the board of the Food Industry Association of WA, and was a 2007 WA Business News 40under40 award winner.
The Fruit & Veggie Wash will be sold in independent supermarkets and Coles supermarkets.
