Natural Produce Preservative Packets Inspired by Plants

close up photography of red tomatoes on green vine

Innovation: Industry

GreenPod Labs

Image: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY - Creative Commons Attribution alone

Regulate Cellular Processes

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living systems, so cellular processes dictate how physiological processes occur within those systems. Cells (whether entire unicellular organisms or parts of multicellular living systems) grow, metabolize nutrients (that is, chemically transform them), produce proteins and enzymes, replicate, and move. Cells as part of multicellular systems rarely act alone, instead having ways to signal to start and complete simple to quite complex interactions. How skin heals is a good example of the role of cellular processes. Blood cells called platelets release clotting factors to stop the bleeding; white blood cells rid the area of foreign materials and release molecules to coordinate healing; cells called fibroblasts start rebuilding using proteins called collagen; new blood vessels form; and skin cells called keratinocytes create the new surface.

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Maintain Homeostasis

When a living system is in homeostasis, it means that internal conditions are stable and relatively constant. For example, a human’s internal temperature is approximately 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) unless there’s an illness. The human body maintains this temperature despite external ambient temperature. However, as with all physiological processes, maintaining homeostasis requires communication and coordination. So living systems have ways to detect changes from the norm, mechanisms to cause an adjustment, and negative feedback connections between the two. A desert lizard called the Gila monster offers a good example of maintaining homeostasis. The lizard goes from eating large meals to fasting for extended time periods. To maintain its blood sugar levels at a steady level, when food is scarce, its endocrine system releases a hormone that raises its blood sugar levels.

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Protect From Fungi

Fungi–which include molds and mushrooms, amongst others–play important roles in every ecosystem, but can also create diseases in plants and animals. Fungi can rapidly reproduce, so living systems must fend them off early to avoid their spread and potential, physical harm. Living systems use both physical and chemical strategies to protect from fungi, and must ensure that these strategies don’t harm the threatened living system itself. For example, a pumpkin’s skin has antifungal proteins to prevent fungal growth without harming the pumpkin itself.

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Protect From Microbes

In living systems, microbes play important roles, such as breaking down organic matter and maintaining personal and system health. But they also pose threats. Bacteria can be pathogens that cause diseases. Some bacteria create colonies called biofilms that can coat surfaces, reducing their effectiveness–for example, inhibiting a leaf’s ability to photosynthesize. Living systems must have strategies for protecting from microbes that cause disease or become so numerous that they create an imbalance in the system. At the same time, living systems must continue living in harmony with other microbes. Some living systems kill microbes. Others repel without killing to reduce the chances that microbes will adapt to the lethal strategy and become resistant to it. For example, some pea seedlings exude a chemical that inhibits biofilm buildup.

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Protect From Light

Access to sunlight is crucial to living systems because it’s the primary energy source for life. However, too much sunlight in the form of ultraviolet radiation (UV) can cause damage to living tissues. Therefore, living systems have strategies to filter out some or all UV radiation. For example, some plants that live in areas exposed to long periods of direct sunlight have reflective surfaces (such as white hairs or powder) that reflect UV light.

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GreenPod Labs mimics the natural chemical signaling in whole plants to keep harvested produce fresher for longer.

Benefits

Reduced hunger
Reduced waste
Reduced synthetic chemical use

Applications

Food storage
Food distribution chains

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 1: No Poverty
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing
Goal 12: Responsible Production & Consumption

The Challenge

Currently, between 40 and 60 percent of all the produce that we grow spoils before we can eat it, especially in areas without developed cold-storage facilities and processes. This wastes half of humanity’s harvest while a billion people around the world face hunger every day.

That high spoilage rate also represents a quarter of our global freshwater supplies––and a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions––squandered on food that is never consumed.

Innovation Details

GreenPod Labs has devised a way to harness the unique natural signaling substances of different fruits and vegetables and capture them in small sachets that can be placed in crates of specific produce. There, the compounds gradually rise into the air, taking over the role of the parent plant in sending signals that those living fruits and vegetables read loud and clear.

As they waft onto the produce, they trigger any number of chemical or physical responses: Some control the opening of “breathing pores”, some lessen the production of gasses that encourage ripening, and some reduce the production of enzymes that decompose cell walls ––slowing down the ripening (and spoiling) process.

Other plant extracts in the sachets activate a natural immune system response that resists attacks by microbes.

GreenPod Labs’ sachets work at ambient temperatures, keeping food fresh even in areas without access to cold storage and cold supply chain facilities.

Since they contain natural ingredients and don’t leave any residue, they don’t have detrimental impacts on the safety or nutritional value of the produce. Initial tests show that the sachets can extend the shelf life of the first targeted fruits and vegetables by 40 to 60 percent.

Since each type of fruit and vegetable has its own unique defense mechanism, the company continues to investigate the unique signals of other food-providing plants.

Biological Model

The tomato on your counter, the lettuce in your fridge, the produce spilling out of buckets and shelves in kitchens and markets around the world … is alive!

When parts are detached and removed, they lose critical lines of communication with the parent plant. When harvested, fruits and vegetables lose contact and communication with the plants on which they grew, but they don’t die. They live for days, weeks, or even longer––making and breaking down chemicals and nutrients, and responding to various aspects of their surroundings.

Whole plants have many natural built-in defense mechanisms, producing and responding to chemical cues to control the rate of ripening and fight off microbes and insects.

Ray of Hope Prize®

GreenPod Labs was awarded the 2022 Ray of Hope Prize, which celebrates nature-inspired solutions addressing the world’s biggest environmental and sustainability challenges. Created in honor of Ray C. Anderson, founder of Interface, Inc. and a business and sustainability leader, the $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize helps startups cross a critical threshold in becoming viable businesses by amplifying their stories and providing them with equity-free funding. The prize shines a light on the innovative, nature-inspired solutions that we need to build a sustainable and resilient world.

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