SBIR Phase I: Modular ozonation technology for improved quality and reduced spoilage from farm to retail

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是节约粮食供应和减少从农场到消费者的浪费。根据美国自然资源保护委员会的一份报告，美国40%的食物没有被吃掉，每年大约有1650亿美元的食物被浪费，其中大部分是由于食物变质。在六分之一的美国人缺乏安全的食物供应，许多人，尤其是儿童，缺乏负担得起的新鲜水果和蔬菜等健康食品来源的情况下，仅减少15%的粮食损失，每年就可以养活2500多万美国人。通过减少腐败损失和延长保质期，所提出的臭氧化装置可以提高健康食品的质量、营养价值和可及性，从而有助于减少肥胖。在保持安全和质量的同时尽量减少损失，可以通过消除腐败生物体和过早成熟来促进农业生产，从而产生更高的利润。潜在市场包括使用运输和储存容器的农产品供应链收获、运输、储存和分销业务。这个第一阶段研究项目的技术目标是制造和开发一个APM（活性包装模块）原型，以减少新鲜水果和蔬菜在储存和运输过程中的腐败损失，使用专利和正在申请专利的臭氧化技术。活动将包括：1)设计和建造小型（约1英寸立方体）模块化独立电池供电单元，设计用于装有易腐农产品的集装箱内；2)确定在不同尺寸的工业标准容器内启动和保持不同程度的腐败控制所需的电气和操作（暴露时间、温度、湿度、容器内放置）参数；3)与基线相比，使用APM时，这些参数与已知接种或自然腐败和病原微生物活菌计数有效对数减少的相关性；4)迭代地重复活动（设计考虑，寿命和功效测试）以优化期望的结果。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to conserve food supply and reduce waste from farm to consumer. According to a Natural Resources Defense Council report, 40% of US food goes uneaten, roughly $165 billion in wasted food/year, much of it due to produce spoilage. Reducing food losses by just 15 percent could feed over 25 million Americans per year when 1/6th lack a secure food supply and many, especially children, lack affordable sources of healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. Through diminished spoilage losses and extended shelf life, the proposed ozonation evice could improve quality, nutritional value, and accessibility of healthy foods and thereby help reduce obesity. Minimizing losses while maintaining safety and quality may promote agricultural production through elimination of spoilage organisms and premature ripening, yielding higher profits. Potential markets include produce supply chain harvest, transport, storage, and distribution businesses that use shipping and storage containers. The technical objectives in this Phase I research project are fabrication and development of a prototype APM (Active Packaging Module) to reduce fresh fruit and vegetable spoilage losses during storage and transit using patented and patent pending ozonation technologies. Activities will include: 1) Design and construction of small (~ 1 inch cube) modular self-contained battery powered units designed to go inside shipping containers containing perishable produce; 2) Determination of electrical and operational (exposure time, temperature, humidity, placement in container) parameters required to initiate and maintain different levels of spoilage control within industry standard containers of different sizes; 3) Correlation of these parameters with effective log reductions in viable counts of known inoculated or natural spoilage and pathogenic microorganism when utilizing the APM as compared to baseline; 4) Repetition of activities iteratively (design considerations, lifetime and efficacy testing) to optimize the desired outcomes.