Japanese technology makes Vietnam's farm produce fresher

Vietnam will widely use the Japanese technology, Cell Alive System (CAS), in preserving the country's tropical fresh farm produce and seafood in an eco-friendly and economical way to serve home consumption and export. According to state-run Vietnam News Agency, a laboratory on CAS, whose patent is held by Japan's ABI group, was inaugurated in capital Hanoi on Wednesday by the Institute of Regional Research and Development under the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) and ABI. CAS is a line of commercial freezers manufactured by ABI to preserve food with greater freshness than ordinary freezing by using electromagnetic fields and mechanical vibrations to prevent ice crystal formation. The technology has been widely recognized in 22 countries worldwide and the European Union. The Hanoi-based lab is part of a cooperation program between MST and the Japanese group activated from Nov. 1, 2012 through April 30, 2015. Under the program, the Japanese side transfers the technology and manufacturing process of CAS equipment to Vietnam while helping the country establish a joint venture to develop a material supply area to meet CAS standards. According to MST, application of CAS will breathe a new life into the renovation of post-harvest technologies in Vietnam to spur the development of farm commodities in service of exports and consumption.