Sonata Scientific LLC

The Importance of Improving Postharvest Handling Can Be Understood in Terms of the Primary Impact of Poor Postharvest Care--food Loss. Technologies for Improving Postharvest Handling Focus on Extending the Shelf Life of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables While Maintaining or Improving Upon the Quality of the Produce. a Major Achievement in Prolonging Produce Shelf Life Has Been the Implementation of Refrigeration and Cold Storage, Which Reducesrespiration and Slows Metabolic Processes. Despite Its Benefits, Refrigeration Alone Cannot Combat Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Waste, Particularly Where It Is Not Readily Available. Even When Its Use Is Accepted as Routine, Lower-cost, Energy-efficient Approaches to Improveproduce Quality and Extendshelf Life Are Desired.ethylene Is a Plant Hormone That Promotes Ripening, But in Large Quantities, Greater Than 100 Part Per Billion (PPB), It Can Cause Over-ripening and Increasesusceptibility to Pathogens and Senescence. Reduction of Ethylene Levels Down to 5 PPB Can Dramatically Extend Produce Storage Times, Suggesting Precise Ethylene Control as a Major Opportunity to Reduce Produce Refrigeration and Spoilage Costs. Whereas Several Ethylene Mitigation Schemes Are Known, They Can Be Hazardous, Compatible Only With Select Produce, Inefficient, and Costly, Effectively Inhibiting Widespread Adoption.sonata Scientific Will Use Light-activated Catalysts to Oxidize Ethylene in the High-humidity, Low-temperature Environments Typical of Produce Storage and Transportation Containers to Nonhazardous Products Already Present in the Produce Environment, E.g., Water and CO2. the Technology Will Also Be Used to Destroy Fungal Spores and Other Airborne Pathogens That Adversely Affect Produce Quality and Lifetime. These Catalysts Will Be Incorporated Into Purification Modules That Effectively Couple Light From Energy-efficient Light Sources to the Catalyst to Maximize Ethylene Mineralization Efficiency. the Systems Will Be Constructed and Tested With Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Cold Storage Environments to Determine the Rate of Ethylene Removal and the Resulting Enhancements to Produce Shelf Life.this Approach to Ethylene Mitigation Will Address Shortcomings in Currently Available Technology by Exploiting a Nontoxic Approach That Can Be Applied Broadly Across a Wide Variety of Produce and Floral Products in Cold, High-humidity Storage Environments. the Platform Technology Willenablea Range of Efficient Ethylene Removal Products for Produce Cold Storage Areas, Transportation Containers, and Distribution Centers. Extending the Postharvest Lifetime of Produce Translates to Less Food Loss and Greater Food Availability. Reducing Costs and Waste Throughout the Postharvest Cycle Will Allow Produce Prices to Be Dropped, Particularly in Those Areas Where High Prices Cannot Be Sustained. Cost-effective, Reliable Ethylene Control Measures Should Encourage Changes in the Handling of Produce Throughout the Postharvest Cycle, Including the Generalized Strategy of Applying Cold Storage to All Produce.