A US-based startup is using leftover plant materials to fight the signs of aging in fruit.
Apeel Sciences uses the excess foliage, including fruit skins and stems, to create an invisible and edible coating, which it claims protects food crops.
According to a report from Business Insider Australia, the coating – which can be applied to produce anytime during its lifespan – can extend the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables by as much as five times.
“Apeel uses the parts of plants and produce that are typically left behind on the farm, like leaves and stems, and repurposes them to create a natural, invisible, edible, tasteless barrier that can be applied to protect food crops, reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, and keep produce as close as possible to its as-picked state,” James Rogers, founder and chief executive of Apeel, said in a statement on the company’s website. “The result is a doubling of the marketable and edible lifespan of fruits and vegetables. And we're just getting started.”
Business Insider reported Apeel’s first products, Edipeel and Invisipeel, have been “generally recognised as safe” by the US Food and Drug Administration. Farms in California, Kenya, and Nigeria are already using Apeel’s products.
