The numbers are staggering.
“One trillion pounds of produce is wasted every year. Globally, 33 percent of produce that’s harvested is never eaten,” explained Aidan Mouat, CEO and founder of Hazel Technologies, LLC, an agri-science company whose mission is to reduce agricultural waste with a product that controls produce freshness.
“We have developed a new technology for the retail and distribution sector that increases the shelf life of produce,” explained Mouat.
FruitBrite™, created by Hazel Technologies, is a small biodegradable pod that distributes an ethylene inhibitor, thus decreasing the impact the aging hormone has on fruit and vegetables. The pod contains a nontoxic, ecofriendly solid material that stores 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) as the active ingredient, a simple hydrocarbon molecule that mimics the effects of ethylene but blocks ethylene receptors.
“We didn’t invent 1-MCP, we just developed a better way to use it,” insisted Mouat, who as a chemist, knew that stopping food spoilage starts at the chemical level.
The end result?
Bananas that don’t go brown, broccoli that keeps its green, apples that stay fresh and firm, and tomatoes that stay taut. FruitBrite™ utilizes a slow release system that can inhibit ethylene damage in over 50 different types of fruits and vegetables. The product, which has received USDA funding, extends shelf life beyond a few days to up to two weeks.
“It is being used by grocery stores, by growers who also are packers and shippers, and at the distributor level,” said Mouat, who plans to roll the product out to the general consumer too.
“It’s a business to business product right now, we hope to expand to the consumer market with the goal of being the first ever 1-MCP technology for the consumer household”, said Mouat, adding that his overall goal is to decrease those high rates of produce waste.
“I have a staunch belief that problems can be solved with the application of energy and enough elbow grease. ”
For more information:
Aidan Mouat
Hazel Technologies
8025 Lamon Avenue #446
Skokie, IL 60077
Tel +(1) 404-218-0848