The most sustainable and carbon reducing spray coating system, to significantly extend the shelf life of protein intensive fresh fish and meat for display to reduce protein food waste

粮食损失和浪费是一个世界性的主要问题。6.9亿或8.9%的人处于饥饿状态（联合国粮食及农业组织）。到2032年，食品垃圾管理市场规模将达到1164亿美元。发达经济体在供应链的下游阶段见证了粮食损失。新冠肺炎疫情后的经济通胀导致英国各地食品价格大幅上涨（进口食品占25.7%，国内食品占18%）。这导致了生存威胁，尤其是低收入者/代表性不足者。肉类是生产过程中最费力的食物，也是最有毒的食物，有三分之一的排放来自于废弃的肉类，而用于处理食物垃圾的土地中有四分之三被用来处理肉类，尽管它占食物垃圾总量的13%。据The Grocer报道，英国超市每年扔掉10万吨可食用的食物，这些食物可以养活3000万人。因此，超市有责任减少食物浪费。肉的保质期和保质期是有区别的。保质期（也称为颜色保质期或显示寿命）是指肉类在冷藏条件下显示颜色变化之前的时间长度。这种从牛肉鲜亮的樱桃红色到另一种颜色（如棕色）的颜色变化是由肌红蛋白的变化引起的（Brooks,2007）。肌红蛋白是肌肉中的色素，负责结合氧气。虽然这种颜色变化是无害的，也不意味着变质，但它会导致顾客不喜欢的颜色。鲜肉含有高达75%的水，这些水与水溶性蛋白质（如蛋白质）结合在一起。肌红蛋白)形成“清除”。陈列肉很容易脱水，通过清洗会相应地失去蛋白质。因此，迫切需要一种可持续延长陈列鲜肉货架期的有效方法。延长新鲜食品保质期最方便的方法是使用包装，例如用透明薄膜进行透气性包装。透气性包装通常由泡沫托盘和肉块下面的吸收垫组成。托盘包裹在一层透明的薄膜中，可以渗透水分和氧气。薄膜的特性允许空气中的氧气与牛肉接触，将牛肉的颜色从紫色变成明亮的樱桃红色。这种单独的包装包装既成本高又劳力密集，通常在高端超市中可以找到。Algreen旨在通过以最经济、可扩展的方式逐步淘汰传统的塑料包装，延长展示鲜肉的保质期，同时保存蛋白质。

Food losses and wastage is a primary worldwide problem. 690 million or 8.9% of people are hungry(Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN). Food Waste Management Market will be $116.4 Bn(2032). Developed economies witness food losses at the downstream stages of the supply chain. Post-COVID economic inflation leads to significant food price increases across the UK(25.7% imported;18% domestic). This lead to survival threats especially to lower incomes/under-representatives.Meat is the most laborious food to produce and the most toxic with 1/3 of emissions produced can be attributed to waste meat with 3/4 of the land used for food waste being used to dispose of meat, even though it accounts for 13% of total food waste.According to The Grocer, supermarkets throw away 100,000-tons of edible food annually in the UK which could feed upwards of 30-million people. As a result, supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce food waste.There is a distinction between case-life and shelf-life of meat. Case-life (also called colour shelf-life or display-life) is described as the length of time meat can be displayed under refrigeration before a colour change occurs. This colour change from the bright, cherry-red colour of beef to another colour, such as brown, is caused by a change in the protein myoglobin(Brooks,2007). Myoglobin is the colour pigment in muscle and is responsible for binding oxygen. While this colour change is not harmful and does not denote spoilage, it results in a colour customers find undesirable. Fresh meat contains up to 75% of water, which combines with water-soluble protein(e.g.myoglobin) to form "purge". Display meat is easily dehydrated and correspondingly loses protein through purge. Hence, an effective way to sustainably extend display fresh meat shelf life is urgently needed.The most convenient way to extend fresh food shelf life is to use wrapping, such as air-permeable overwrap with clear transparent film. An air-permeable package typically consists of a foam tray and absorbent pad that rests under the meat cut. The tray is wrapped in a clear film that is permeable to moisture and oxygen. The film characteristics allow oxygen from the air to come in contact with the beef, changing the colour from purple to bright cherry-red. Such individual packaging wrap is both cost and labour-intensive are usually found in high-end supermarkets.Algreen aims to extend display fresh meat shelf-life with protein preservation by phasing out the conventional plastic packaging in the most economical scalable way.