OneSpray - Extending the shelf life of fresh produce through novel antimicrobial coating technology

粮食浪费是一个具有全球意义的问题，影响到粮食安全和环境可持续性，大约三分之一的粮食生产，相当于每年13亿吨，在粮食生产和消费系统中浪费。在英国，每年产生约1500万吨食物垃圾，价值超过67亿英镑，其中大部分是易腐/保质期短的产品（可避免的垃圾），面包占32%的可食用采购被浪费，水果，蔬菜相当于24%。零售业也面临着类似的保质期挑战，大多数零售商都面临着严重的新鲜农产品浪费。在Innovate UK的支持下，OneSpray旨在通过进一步开发和利用真正具有颠覆性的食品包装解决方案来应对这一全球挑战，该解决方案已被证明能够将易腐食品的保质期延长30%-100%。创新的核心是一种新型安全的抗菌解决方案，可应用于任何包装产品，其抗菌功能可持续30天以上，同时杀死了99.9%本项目将为不同类型的新鲜农产品和包装形式探索新的产品配方，并在更广泛的新鲜农产品中试用保质期延长功能。如果成功，拟议的创新有可能将商店和英国家庭中产生的食物垃圾量减少50%，改善新鲜营养食品的获取，在整个食品供应链中具有显着的经济和环境效益。

Food waste is an issue of global significance, affecting food security and environmental sustainability with about one third of all food produced, equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes per annum, wasted in the food production and consumption systems. In the UK, approximately 15 million tonnes of food waste is created every year, with a value of over £6.7billion, the majority of which is made up of perishable/short shelf-life products (avoidable waste) with bread representing 32% of edible purchases being wasted, fruits, vegetables equating to 24%. Similar shelf-life challenges are found within the Retail sector with most retailers operating with significant fresh produce waste levels.With Innovate UK support, OneSpray aim to address this global challenge, through the further development and exploitation of a truly disruptive food packaging solution that has already been proven in its ability to extend the shelf-life of perishable food by 30%-100%. The innovation centres on a novel and safe antimicrobial solution that can be applied to any packaging product with antimicrobial functionality lasting over 30 days withstanding strong abrasion, whilst killing 99.9% of pathogens and reducing microbial activity within the packaging that contribute to mould growth and therefore product deterioration.This project will explore new product formulations for different types of Fresh Produce and packaging formats and trial shelf-life extension capabilities across a wider range of Fresh Produce. If successful, the proposed innovation has the potential to reduce the volume of food waste levels generated in stores and in UK homes by up to 50%, improving the access to fresh nutritious foods, with significant economic and environmental benefits across the entire food supply chain.