Apeel: new technology that keeps fruit&veg fresh for longer

Shocking numbers tell us that around a third of the world’s food ends up in the bin – this represents around 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted every year. And a big part of this waste is because fruits and vegetables simply go bad, they rot away. What if there was a way to slow down this natural decay, and make your veggies stay fresh for longer? This is where Apeel comes in.

You must have heard of ethylene. This is a gas – a hormone, actually – that induces ripening on most fruits and vegetables. Excess ethylene will make your produce ripen faster and have a shorter shelf life.

However, this is not the only factor that causes your produce to go bad. After harvesting, all fruits and vegetables will gradually start losing moisture from the inside, oxidising by contact with air and rotting on count of water gathering on the outside.

Apeel is a revolutionary product created by Apeel Sciences that promises to keep your produce fresh for longer – we dare to say, more than twice as long. But this isn’t some kind of magic – it is science.

How does Apeel make fruits last longer?

Apeel is plant-derived: it is made of lipids and glycerolipids, substances that are present in all fruits and vegetables, specifically in their peels, seeds and pulp. It is produced in the form of a powder that, when mixed with water, can be sprayed or brushed into produce and form a new “peel”. This new peel is really a thin protective layer that keeps moisture in and prevents oxidation.

In other words, Apeel mimics the natural peel of fruits and vegetables, but being an extra layer, gives your produce extra shelf time. However, it is totally edible, non toxic, colourless, odourless and tasteless.

Why does it matter so much?

According to FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations, around 46% of all the fruits and vegetables produced worldwide are wasted. And this is why Apeel matters: by applying Apeel on fresh produce, farmers, transporters or sellers can help reduce these whooping numbers and save many fruits and vegetables, that would otherwise end up in the bin.

Also, since Apeel preserves produce, there would be less need for refrigerator trucks and transportation, as well as refrigeration needs in supermarkets, for example. It may seem little, but on a worldwide scale this would greatly reduce energy and resources consumption.

Where there is Apeel, there is a way

From farmers to the final consumer – you – everyone has a lot to benefit from reducing the amount of food that gets wasted every day. Ultimately, we’ll be helping the planet: less food waste, less energy consumption, more sustainability.

But when can we get the benefits of using Apeel? This technology is already widely used in the United States, mainly on avocados, asparagus and limes. While it is slowly making its way into Europe, it has been approved for testing in the UK in other citrus fruits.

Undeniably, where there’s Apeel, there’s a way.

And while Apeel isn’t available everywhere, here are 9 tips to avoid food waste at home.