Buzz
Apeel's solution is a tasteless, colorless powder derived from vegetables that, when applied to the outer skin of fruits and vegetables, helps delay spoilage.You promised yourself you’d eat those avocados before they spoiled. But then, after stepping away for just a few minutes, you return to find the once-fresh fruit now withered into sad, shriveled lumps of decay.
The laws of decay aren’t yours to make, and unfortunately, you're just another victim. In fact, nearly a third of all food sold in U.S. grocery stores each year ends up as waste — totaling a staggering 1.3 billion tons (1.1 metric tons) annually. It's a disgrace.
Apeel, a California-based company supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other investors, has created a vegetable-derived powder that can be applied to the skin of fruits and vegetables to help prevent spoilage. By blocking oxygen, which is responsible for accelerating bacterial growth on your produce, Apeel forms a protective barrier on the outside of fruits and vegetables immediately after harvest, trapping moisture inside. Delivered to farmers as a powder, Apeel is mixed with water and sprayed on produce, leaving behind an invisible layer of tasteless plant material that slows down oxidation and water loss, the main contributors to spoilage.
Fruits and vegetables naturally have their own defense system in the form of the cuticle — a protective barrier that helps them breathe while keeping moisture locked in. Apeel claims its product, which is colorless and tasteless, offers additional protection, as it is made from the same material as the natural cuticle. The product has been approved as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Apeel claims it can increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by up to four times, which could help reduce the staggering food waste produced by wealthy nations every day. It also holds promise for improving food security in countries with limited infrastructure for delivering fresh produce before it spoils. With one in nine people going to bed hungry each night globally, Apeel aims to boost profits for produce companies in supermarkets while extending the lifespan of fresh produce in regions facing food shortages.
One recent study found that the healthiest Americans tend to waste more food — since their diet includes more fresh produce, they end up throwing out more of it.
