Low-Temperature Drying of Organic Fruits and Vegetables**

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Established in 2007, TapRoot Farms has become the largest producer of organic fruit and vegetables in Nova Scotia with more than $1 Million in annual sales. The key to success is the premium quality of their fresh organic produce and the business model of Community Shared Agriculture (CSA), which allows direct home delivery of organic-grown fruits/vegetables as fresh produce. Today TapRoot Farms is delivering organic produce to 16 locations between Port Williams and Tantallon Nova Scotia. The Company is a proud member of Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network, recognized by Canada GAP and is certified with Atlantic Certified Organic. To maintain the status as a leader in the organic industry, the Company is investing in novel technologies of organic agriculture, improving farming practices, products and services. The specific problem of TapRoot Farms is the short shelf-life of their organic-grown fruits and vegetables, which limits production capacity, options for off-season delivery and overall business profitability. Therefore, the Company is looking for innovative drying technology for better utilization of organically grown fresh produce. This is the first time partnership between TapRoot Farms and Dr. Alex Martynenko (Dalhousie University), who has significant expertise in drying technologies. The objective of this project is to explore new low-temperature drying technology for organically grown fruits and vegetables. Previous research shows that low-temperature technology is cost efficient and suitable for fruit drying, but it has never been studied for drying of organic produce. In this 6-month project we are going to study the effects of low-temperature drying on the organic fruits quality and drying efficiency. The knowledge gained in this project will be used for the commercialization and further development of low-temperature drying technology as a cost-efficient solution for small- and medium size agricultural enterprises. It is expected that commercial application of low-temperature drying will allow TapRoot Farms to gain competitive edge in the production of dried organic foods for domestic and international markets.******