Each year in the United States, over $30 billion in produce goes to waste due to spoilage. Less waste means that growers and shippers of produce end up with more dollars in their pocket, and that nutritious and high quality produce can make it to the consumer at a more affordable price. In many types of produce, spoilage is driven by ethylene gas, a hormone that plants release in response to aging or stress.
Ethylene inhibitors have been used to slow the effects of ethylene aging. Hazel Technologies, in Skokie, Illinois, is taking industrial-level application and downsizing it to a continuous application method at the box level. This application across a much wider range of commodity types means that ethylene protection can follow produce through the supply chain and reduce spoilage.
NIFA supports this project with a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant.
Read the full article at the Fruit Growers News.
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