Sydney to be the first to receive fresh chilled durians from Malaysia

SEPANG: Sydney will be the first foreign market to receive Malaysian durians in fresh chilled form through a new packaging technology.

Developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), the modified atmosphere packaging is able to seal in the freshness of the durian flesh for up to three weeks. Previously, Malaysian durians were exported either in frozen form or as whole fruits.

“The new packaging technology is more hygienic and is able to contain the freshness of the fruits’ taste, aroma, colour and texture. “Frozen durians, which can be kept for up to six months or even a year, does not taste as good because the tissues and enzymes of the fruits are dead.

“They are not the same as fresh chilled durians,” Mardi senior principal research officer Latifah Mohd Noor said at the launch of the MASKargo cold chain product here yesterday.

The launch was held in conjunction with Mardi’s trial durian shipment to the Australian city, which involves some two tonnes of the fruit being exported to Sydney in phases. The first batch of durian flesh weighing some 650kg was transported yesterday and will be sold in four supermarkets.

MASKargo chief executive officer Mohd Yunus Idris said the durians were expected to reach Sydney’s supermarkets as fresh as when the fruits were first picked from the orchard.

Mohd Yunus also announced the company’s partnership with Envirotainer in transporting the temperature-sensitive shipments. Latifah said the trial shipments were aimed at testing consumer demand for the fruit and to allow Mardi to evaluate the effectiveness of its new packaging technology.
-thestar online.