June 13, 2014 — Feeding a growing planet means getting food waste under control. With one-third of all food being wasted or lost, that’s no small task. But here’s some good news. Researchers are hot on the trail of some promising new solutions, with a bonus: They don’t involve synthetic, environmentally damaging chemicals.
The scientists, working at the Centre of Excellence for Post-harvest Biotechnology at Nottingham University’s Malaysia Campus, have been finding ways to turn natural products such as chitosan obtained from crustacean shells and gum arabic — acacia tree sap — into small particles that can be sprayed on fruits and vegetables to delay ripening and lengthen shelf life. So far, nature’s food waste solutions are working. The researchers found that particles created from these natural products delayed ripening of tomatoes and increased dragon fruit life by 28 days.
“We believe that developing post-harvest management techniques using natural products is the way forward, especially since these natural biodegradable products we are researching can also contribute to traditional medicine and pharmacology as we learn more about our natural environment,” CEPB director Asgar Ali wrote in an article for The Conversation. “Hopefully too, we can develop better ways of reducing the huge amount of food loss that takes place and focus on getting food to those who need it.” Photo by the_ewan (Flickr | Creative Commons)
Ensia shares solutions-focused stories free of charge through our online magazine and partner media. That means audiences around the world have ready access to stories that can — and do — help them shape a better future. If you value our work, please show your support today.
Yes, I'll support Ensia!