There’s a new way to address the global issue of food waste that protects produce from spoiling. Food Protectors, an environmental innovation from NYU Shanghai student Amit Gal Or and the Phresh Organics team, keeps fruits and vegetables fresh for up to three times longer than expected -- and it’s organic.
“We’re offering a solution that can increase the life of fruits and vegetables by weeks,” said Gal Or.
Food Protectors, available in a stylish robot or apple-shaped container, has been proven to prolong the life of cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, eggplants, peppers, apples, potatoes, citrus fruits and lemons. It relies on a powder placed in a unit that sits among the produce while natural science takes care of the rest.
“The Food Protectors’ powder is slowly released into the air, where it creates conditions that safely protect ripeness in fruits and vegetables. It’s made up of inexpensive microencapsulated essential oils like clove, spearmint, thyme, and others. ” Gal Or said.
Food Protectors actively targets exact bacterium, fungus, and mushrooms that have negative effects on produce. It acts as a repellent of insecticides, fungicides, bactericides and nematicides, while still being completely edible.
Launched this February on Kickstarter, Food Protectors has already successfully raised over US$ 30,000 with 552 backers and can be shipped to anywhere in the world from international crowdfunding website Indiegogo.
Want to know more about the science? Watch a short YouTube video on how it works, here.