Edipeel – An Edible Protective Cover for Perishable Fruits and Vegetables

Edipeel – An Edible Protective Cover for Perishable Fruits and Vegetables

More than half of the world’s fruits and vegetables perish before they are eaten. Experts around the world are working hard to find solutions to permanently limit these crop losses. Rather than optimizing traditional deposits and supply chains, Californian start-up Apeel Sciences has developed a spray of plant waste to extend the shelf life and preserve the nutrient content of fruits with a biological protective cover. Basis for the coating is a powder of tomato peels, fruit stalks and grape seeds mixed with water, which is sprayed onto the fruit or vegetables immediately after harvesting. The protective sprays are individually assembled depending on the type of harvest to be preserved.
The spray creates an additional barrier against the decay process (1). The invention, called Edipeel, has passed its crucial crash test in Kenya and Nigeria (2). There, the sprays were successfully used to preserve cassava roots and mangoes. Meanwhile, the product has been recognized by food agencies in the US, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Japan and China; as well as the (3).

 

Read and see more:

(1) The Start-up Apeel describes Edipeel on their Website available via http://apeelsciences.com/edipeel.html.

(2) Cf. Video Edipeel Feature on Kenya’s QTV Yawalatea, available via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgMpQeVzlY and the Blog of S. Strom. An (Edible) Solution to Extend Produce’s Shelf Life. NYT vom 13.12.2016, available via https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/business/an-edible-solution-to-extend-produces-shelf-life.html

(3) Notification of FDA available via https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/NoticeInventory/ucm510908.pdf

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