An innovative storage project to keep apples in underground caves in the Italian Alps is being trialed by British supermarket giant Asda.

The joint venture between Asda and Italian apple supplier Melinda is expected to be completed in 2019 and will have the capacity to store up to 50,000 metric tons (MT) of Golden Delicious apples. The move is forecast to save approximately 60% of the electricity needed to store the same quantity in a standard refrigerated warehouse.

On top of this, the cave project will use far less water, decrease carbon dioxide emissions and save land, according to a release.

The back story involves a local building company extracting rock from the Val di Non Mountains in the Trentino region of northern Italy to be used to restore part of the St. Peter colonnade of the Vatican in Rome.

A local apple co-operative realized the business opportunity to partner with the building company to mine dedicated spaces to store apples inside the mountain, rather than building new refrigeration areas to store their apple harvest.

The storage areas are approximately 800 meters (874 yards) into the mountain and each of the five projected spaces are 144 meters (157 yards) long and 60 meters (66 yards) wide - around the size of two Boeing 747 jets.

Asda owns International Procurement and Logistics (IPL), the largest single importer of produce in Great Britain, which operates a sourcing model that works directly with growers and dismisses the need for third parties to be involved in the supply chain.

IPL has agronomists located all over the world who have built close relationships with growers to better source and manage on the ground on behalf of Asda.

Martin Smith, category manager for IPL, has been overseeing the operation in Italy.

"This is a really exciting project which we’ve been working on for over two years. Not only do we see the environmental benefit of the reduced electricity and water, but these apples are pretty tasty too," he said in a release.

"The first time I visited the mountain site it was a completely unique and unforgettable experience and it is really exciting for me to know that our shoppers have the chance to enjoy such apples with such an innovative story."

The Golden Delicious apples are grown on the Dolomites Mountains which, according to Asda, give them a unique taste because of the altitude of the orchards which are located around 625 meters (2,050 feet) above sea level, receive a higher number of sunlight hours and a favorable rain pattern which allows higher than average sugar contents into the fruit.

Cold storage of apples is common practice in the fresh produce industry to sustain a regular supply through the year and for consumers it means fruit remains as fresh and tasty as when it was first harvested.

Around 50 million Golden Delicious apples are sold throughout Asda’s U.K. stores annually and have been a familiar variety for British consumers for many years. Approximately a quarter of these apples are sourced from Italy and the rest come from France.

www.freshfruitportal.com