How this plant-based coating makes produce last longer

There's something different about those strawberries in the bottom row. They've got a special edible coating made from plants that makes them last a whole lot longer than your standard strawberries. [MUSIC] It's made by a company called Apeel which claims its fruit and vegetable. [UNKNOWN] can keep apples and blueberries fresh for a whole month. And can protect limes for up to seven weeks. To preserve these fruits and vegetables, Apeel fortifies the plant's own natural defenses using discarded parts from other plants. Each type of produce takes its own path to ripeness, and eventually decay, meaning each type of produce requires its own unique Apeel formulation. To keep it fresh, discarded plant materials are mixed and matched to create the right kind of coding for any given piece of produce, which helps mitigate the release of water and carbon dioxide and prevents oxygen from entering. That slows the rate of decay. It might sound like a simple solution, but it requires a lot of precision. A coating that's too airtight might cause the produce to ferment. And unless you're making bootleg strawberry wine, you probably don't want that. Some stores like Kroger are already selling Apeel's produce. Products currently available in select stores are avocados, apples, limes, oranges And mandarins, though Apeel says it has developed protective coatings for more than 50 categories of produce. The company claims that stores selling Apeel avocados end up throwing out 50% less avocados than usual. That's an especially significant number when you consider the fact that roughly 50% of all produce in the United States Ends up in the garbage. It's a waste of food that could be feeding hungry mouths and of the water, labor, land and other resources that went into producing it. appeals efforts to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables gives consumers more time to eat the food they buy. And it also allows for more efficient distribution. Until now asparagus has been transported exclusively by air to avoid spoilage. Appeals asparagus can be shipped by boat which is slower but vastly more carbon friendly. Appeals lineup of fruits and vegetables are particular Regularly compelling now that trips to the grocery store have been complicated by the Coronavirus pandemic, with every trip to the store creating new potential for exposure to the virus. Being able to stock up on produce that lasts longer can help us shop less and enjoy the healthy benefits of fruits and vegetables more