SBIR Phase II: Dual Enzyme System to Prevent Food Waste Caused by Oxygen

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a new and effective method for protecting foods, beverages, and other packaged goods from the damage caused by oxygen. The technology is powered by enzymes which use sugar, consume oxygen in a container, and leave behind an insignificant amount of a difference sugar and water. The process is repetitive and the reaction will continue until the enzymes decompose into their fundamental building blocks. When a fruit or vegetable is picked, meat processed, or beverage bottled the food/drink begins to oxidize. It is estimated that 25% of the world’s food supply is lost to oxidation and spoilage. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council and ReFED, $218 billion of food is thrown away every year and about 40% of the food produced in the US goes uneaten. The proposed research is focused on developing active packaging solutions to address the issue of food waste and profit loss due to oxidation. To help facilitate industry adoption, the technology must progress to a level of maturity that demonstrates cost-benefit for customers during incorporation of this disruptive technology into their processes and products. The proposed project further progresses the development of recombinant protein expression technology. Enzymes perform complex chemical reactions in water, under gentle physical conditions, with no organic solvents, high temperatures or pressures required. Phase I work showed that the dual enzyme system has superior performance when compared to products available today for oxidation prevention. The system is stable over a range of temperatures and many months, continuously removing oxygen to maintain part per million concentration from air or headspace, or when immersed in liquids. The technical objectives of this project are to determine the ideal formats and packet materials and ratios between the oxidase and catalase enzymes to effectively remove oxygen from a variety of food and beverage containers at storage conditions these products face in the real world. The enzymes used also eliminate any change in pH, a barrier previous technologies encountered. The prototype packet format used for beta testing is small, one square centimeter, and contains a few nanograms of enzyme, sugar and aqueous buffer. A number of packet materials which have approved for contact with food will be examined. These materials should permit permeation of gas but keep packet contents intact and away from foods being protected. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.