SmartFreshSM A Technical Information Bulletin of the Northwest Horticultural Council Background:   The properties of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) were discovered in the early 1990s by scientists at North Carolina State University (NC State) who were studying a method to counteract the ethylene response in plants.  NC State now has a portfolio of U.S. patents on this technology.  The first commercial use of l-MCP, under the trade name Ethylbloc®, was in 1999 in nurseries on ornamental crops and for maintaining the longevity of cut flowers.  Rohm and Haas, a large specialty chemical company based in Philadelphia, after having licensed rights for “all fields of use” to the technology from NC State, formed AgroFresh Inc. in December 1999 in order to develop and market SmartFreshSM for fresh produce uses.  AgroFresh has chosen to protect its property right by means of a service mark.  A service mark, which may be a word or symbol, is intended to be used in commerce to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services. On July 26, 2002, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of 1-methylcyclopropene for a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as the post harvest treatment of apples. The product works in apples by bonding with the fruit’s ethylene receptors to slow down the ripening process following fruit maturation.  EPA exempted 1-MCP, registered under the name "SmartFresh", from the requirement to establish a residue tolerance because the product leaves no detectible residues following application. SmartFreshSM  may be used on such items as  apples, bananas, kiwifruit, persimmons, tomatoes, cantaloupes and avocadoes.  It is not registered for use on fruits, such as cherries, with little or no interval between maturity and ripening. Labeling Issues:  The use of 1-MCP must be shown on the shipping carton for sales within the United States .  Packers and shippers must comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) labeling requirements for post-harvest chemicals.  Post harvest chemicals used must be labeled with the full chemical name (in this case, 1-methylcyclopropene) on the bulk-shipping container or on the retail packages if they are not shipped in a labeled bulk-shipping container.  General information on labeling can be found in the Northwest Horticultural Council’s Export Manual and Wax and Chemical Post Harvest Labeling Manual at www.nwhort.org. Contact:   NHC:  Should customers or members of the media ask for additional information of industry members, such inquiries may be referred to: Dr. Mike Willett, Vice President for Scientific Affairs, or Deborah Carter, Technical Issues Manager, Northwest Horticultural Council at (509) 453-3193 or the registrant at the number below. Registrant:  Robin Sprague, Global Communications Manager, AgroFresh Inc., at (215) 641-7631 for specific questions regarding media relations and SmartFresh. Industry Members with Technical Questions regarding the Use of SmartFresh can contact:  Dr. A. Nathan (Nate) Reed, Director of Pre and Postharvest R & D Research in Pome Fruit, AgroFresh Inc. at (509) 664-4855. Other Informational Resources: AgroFresh Inc. at  www.agrofresh.com. 1/10/08 Northwest Horticultural Council 105 South 18th Street, Suite 105 Yakima, Washington 98901, USA Voice: (509) 453-3193, Fax: (509) 457-7615 E-mail general@nwhort.org