Prosane® is the name of this French innovation developed by the French start-up Proteme. It consists of an invisible, natural food coating, like a second skin, that extends fruit shelf life by slowing down the ripening process (up to 10 days longer) and significantly reducing the development of diseases during storage. “It is a biopolymer, a coating composed solely of natural materials, either plant or fungal-based rather than derived from petrochemicals. We ruled out animal origin to avoid any allergy problems,” explains Paul Malfoy, CEO and co-founder of Proteme. While our solution was primarily designed for conservation and protection purposes, it actually meets the requirements imposed by the Agec law perfectly.
The name Proteme was not chosen at random: PRO for “protect” and EME for Epicarp, Mesocarp and Endocarp, the successive layers of a fruit.
OYEA competition
With a background in agricultural engineering at AgroParisTech and experience in the agri-food and mass retail sectors, Paul Malfoy is well aware of food waste problems. He therefore started developing the project in 2020 and began laboratory testing in 2021, with the support from INRAE.
Proteme received the “Greentech Innovation” award in 2022, a distinction given by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Lemon with Prosane (left) and lemon without Prosane (right)
Bananas, lemons…and more!
Prosane® is currently intended for bananas and lemons, but the start-up plans to extend its solution to other products such as stone fruits. “We are currently working exclusively on these two products. For bananas, we have fairly close relationships with French growers and ripeners, which greatly facilitates access to information. For lemons, the situation is different. We consider that the use of phytosanitary products is still too high in the citrus fruit sector.”
While preservation is much less of a problem for lemons, Prosane helps eliminate the pathogens on the skin that cause mold during storage. “Trials have shown that it is possible to extend shelf life by up to 10 days. In the case of lemons, we can halve the incidence of storage-related illnesses.”
This innovation has enabled Proteme to win the Interfel competition via the OPENLAB - Accelerator of Innovation for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables.
Marketing planned for 2025
Solutions of this type are already being developed and marketed across the Atlantic, but Proteme's co-founders are keen to pursue their development on the European market, despite very “problematic” regulations. “There is a huge paradox in Europe, with both a desire to legislate indiscriminately on chemical molecules and a desire to prevent the emergence of new molecules,” explains Paul Malfoy. “As a result, there have been numerous bans for several years now, and the list keeps getting longer, while producers are left without any viable alternatives. We therefore have a very strong need for post-harvest protection in Europe.”
The Proteme team is currently looking for partner producers to test its solution in situ.
For more information:
Paul Malfoy
Proteme
Phone: 06 08 17 47 32
[email protected]
www.proteme.fr
