We throw away about one third of all fruits and vegetables. The California company Apeel wants to change that with a natural coating, which will allow products to stay fresh twice as long. The reason is simple: about a third of all food produced in developed countries never gets to the dining table. This is billions of dollars. And we usually throw away fruits and vegetables that look unattractive. Apeel offers to cover them suitable for eating shell without color and odor which will double or triple the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.
How to preserve freshness of fruit
A thin coating is composed of pulp, peel and seeds of other fruits and vegetables. They turn into a powder which is then mixed with water and applied to the product by spraying, boning or cleaning, after which it dries up. This second skin acts as a barrier, slowing down water loss and exposure to air, the main factors that lead to spoilage of food. Lemon, which can stay fresh for one month can remain fresh two to three times more after the treatment Apeel. And since the shell consists of fruits and other plants, it is also edible.
According to the founder and CEO of Apeel James Rogers, the company has processed 8 million avocados. The company claims that in the pilot versions, so retailers and suppliers of food waste has been reduced by more than 50%, thanks to this coating. The company has also attracted $ 110 million from investors including the bill and Melinda gates Foundation, and plans to launch the program in Europe.
“We didn’t need to tell retailers they know about it for more than a decade,” says Rogers. Now avocados, processed Apeel, should arrive in some stores in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to the middle of the year, subject to the approval of the European Union. Other fruits will most likely appear in the near future, although Apeel does not specify which ones.
According to the President of the analytical center of Food Tank Danielle Nirenberg, the biggest challenge for Apeel will force manufacturers, retailers and consumers will handle the products in such a way. Consumers do not always adopt innovations associated with food — think genetically modified foods (GMOs). But if this obstacle could be overcome, she said, Apeel will help people to gain confidence PI buying fruits and vegetables because they are less likely to go in the trash.
Rogers is confident that the usual ingredients of coating will help to convince people. About the processing of product so it will be stated on the packaging.
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