EDIBLE PEEL EXTENDS SHELF LIFE OF VEGGIES, FRUITS

Materials scientist James Rogers of California has developed an edible, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved solution that extends the shelf life of produce sold in the US, Germany and Denmark, thus reducing food waste and helping farmers sell their products for a longer period.

Using a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help get his idea off the ground, Rogers organized a start-up, Apeel Sciences, where he developed the Apeel treatment, which are made up of lipids and glycerolipids, plant-based compounds that are found in peels, seeds and pulp, reported Lindsay Campbell for the US trade publication Modern Farmer.

The treatment acts as an invisible barrier, or an extra peel, as Rogers puts it, to double or triple the time it takes for produce to go bad by locking in water content and keeping oxygen out. These are the two factors that cause spoilage.

Farmers and distributors have been applying the product by coating fruit and vegetables with it. The solution comes as a powder that is diluted with water and can be used as a spray or dip. Rogers says he tries to sell the product to distributors rather than farmers, as he believes that the cost of spoilage shouldn’t be put on the farmer, especially smallholder farmers.

Over the years, Rogers says he’s heard from farmers, distributors and grocers that Apeel has helped their bottom line. A recent pilot project between Apeel and German grocery giant, the Edeka Group, shows that 2,900 stores across the country that sold Apeel-treated avocados had a 50-percent reduction in avocado spoilage and a 20-percent increase in sales.

A recent $30-million check he received from private investors in October will allow him to set up more partnerships with smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico, Central and South America and Southeast Asia so they can use the product on what they’re growing and break into the global food markets.

WEEKLY FEATURE : JOSE MARI CHAN AND THE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM