Eachyearintheunited states, nearlyhalfofallfruitsandvegetablesgrownwillgoto waste

Crop loss is an especially pressing issue for berry growers, where short postharvest shelf-life due to fungal infection plagues the industry. Despite these challenges, consumer demand for berries has grown steadily over the past decades to an annual market value of $7.1 billion. This project seeks to facilitate to commercialization of an antifungal clamshell insert capable of slowing the growth of fungus to increase berry shelf-life. The proprietary insert technology offers controlled release of antifungal actives derived from organic essential oils thereby effectively inhibiting fungal growth. This project targets continual product improvement, a focus on sustainable packaging, and third-party verification of efficacy. At the conclusion of phase II and the start of phase III, hazel technologies, INC. Will be equipped with a sustainable antifungal clamshell insert capable of extending the shelf-life of various berries as well as the logistics to produce these pads at scale. The work will demonstrate the utility of organic essential oils to prevent fungal growth in a postharvest context for berries and act as a platform antifungal technology for other fruits. Finally, this award will support third-party testing of the technology at commercially relevant scales under both academic and commercial supply chain conditions which will provide confidence and results for our product with potential customers.