An Improved Release System for Ethylene Inhibitors to Invrease the Shelf-Life of Post-Harvest Agricultural Products

Each year in the United States, over $30B in produce goes to waste due to spoilage. Degradation of produce in inventories is a tax on agricultural production that reduces the overall productivity and resource efficiency of US agriculture. Less waste means that growers and shippers of produce end up with more dollars in their pocket, and that nutritious and high quality produce can make it to the consumer at a more affordable price. In many types of produce, spoilage is driven by degradation due to ethylene gas, a hormone that plants release in response to aging or stress. Ethylene inhibitors can be applied to slow the effects of ethylene aging in produce. Ethylene inhibitors have been transformative in the apple and pear industries, where they enable year-round availability. Hazel's innovation is to take industrial-level application and downsize it to a continuous application method at the box level. This enables application of this technology across a much wider range of commodity types and means that ethylene protection can follow produce through the supply chain. During Phase I of this project, the delivery technology was successfully implemented, and lab-scale tests in-house at Hazel Technologies and with industry partners showed efficacy across an impressive array of different produce types. This project targets improved manufacturing techniques and third party verification of efficacy at scale, both in a controlled academic environment and within real-world commercial supply chains. Phase II is designed to prepare the technology for full commercialization and to build collateral for new customers. At the conclusion of Phase II and the start of Phase III, Hazel Technologies will be equipped to produce our 1-MCP technology at unrivaled economy and scale. The enhancements to our production engineering proposed under this award will enable new 1-MCP innovations, unlocking more potential for this potent, post-harvest active ingredient. 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 in our product and its results for potential customers. At the completion of Phase III, Hazel Technologies will have successfully commercialized our anti-ethylene insert technology. As a result, US produce exporters will be able to send US products abroad with greater confidence, and consumers will have access to higher quality produce without having to subsidize as much supply chain waste from their pocket.