Food waste prevention has been a challenge for humanity. Since the beginning of time, people have used a variety of methods to preserve food, from the ancient Greeks washing figs in seawater to the medieval Chinese wrapping citrus fruits in wax. Despite the changed conditions, minimizing food waste is still a challenging task because it increases greenhouse gas emissions.

Two of the most significant strategies businesses currently use to reduce food waste are plastic and chemicals. A Swiss study found that plastic packaging for cucumbers has more positive environmental effects than negative ones. Chemicals like chlorine and hydrogen peroxide are routinely used to get rid of microorganisms on fresh food and prevent it from going bad. However, customers are moving away from these methods more and more due to concerns about the impact of plastics on the environment and the potential health risks of chemical treatments.

The development of new methods to preserve fruits and vegetables without the use of plastics or chemicals is the outcome, and these technologies may hold the key to resolving this problem.