A Technical Information Bulletin
of the
Northwest Horticultural Council
1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP)
Background:
The properties of 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. The patent on 1-MCP expired in 2014, and in April 2015, Janssen PMP registered their own 1-MCP product, Fysium, which is distributed by Pace International.
On July 26, 2002, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of 1-MCP for a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as the post harvest treatment of apples. 1-MCP is also approved for use on pears. The product works in apples and pears 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 detectable residues following application.
1-MCP may be used on such items as apples, pears, bananas, kiwifruit, persimmons, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and avocados. 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.
For export labeling, the NHC strongly suggests that only the technical information required by the destination country be included on the shipping carton. For example, India does not require information on the use or possible use of 1-MCP and providing such information may lead to regulatory problems at port of entry.
General information on labeling can be found in the Northwest Horticultural Council’s Export Manual and Fresh Fruit Labeling Manual.
Contact:
For additional information, contact the Northwest Horticultural Council at 509-453-3193.
Industry Contacts: Stacy Young, Agrofresh, at 509-949-3780; or Ted Nulliner, Pace International, at 509-406-1202.
Updated 2/6/2023
