A tiny packet filled with big technology is helping reduce food waste by keeping fruit and veggies fresher, longer!
Food technology is helping fresh fruits and veggies last even longer!
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We talked to a company named Hazel Technologies that is developing ways to slow down the aging process of fresh produce.
“We’re hoping to be able to reduce food waste due to spoilage down to nothing,” explained Aidan Mouat, CEO of Hazel Technologies.
It’s all thanks to a tiny packet (pictured above) that kind of looks like one of those moisture absorbing packets you find in a shoe box.
“That sachet continuously treats the atmosphere around the produce and actually enables us to control the metabolism of the produce,” explained Mouat.
Already, the world’s biggest avocado company, Mission Produce, is using them. One packet is placed in a 50 pound box of avocados, it emits a chemical that counteracts the ripening gases normally emitted by fruit.
There’s no need for sprays or dips. The contents inside the packet don’t even touch the produce.
“All the things that you want to be eating, there’s more of them in a well preserved piece of produce than there is in a poorly preserved piece of produce,” explained Mouat.
Already the packets saved 85 million pounds of fresh produce from the trash in 2019. Hazel says this is just the beginning – they hope to apply their food tech to things like meats and baked goods.
BONUS: Here’s the guacamole recipe my Facebook followers said is the best!
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