Image Credit : Apeel Sciences
Organisation
Project Context
Currently around half of all food grown ends up in a landfill. And we will soon reach a critical point in our ability to feed the world. Apeel Sciences believe rather than devoting more land, energy, and water resources to food production, the key to abundance is in the building blocks of plants.
Every fruit and vegetable has a “peel” to protect it from drying out and rotting. Peels are so important, every plant on land has one — from raspberries to roses. The materials that make up skins and peels are ubiquitous and we eat them every day.
Inspired by nature’s strategy for preservation, James Rogers and the Apeel Sciences team have built a barrier out of edible plant materials that can slow down the spoilage rate.
Project Innovation
Apeel is a family of colourless, odourless, and tasteless plant-derived coatings that fresh food growers, suppliers, and retailers use to keep produce fresh.
Produce with Apeel stays fresh two to three times longer, which promotes more sustainable growing practices, better quality food, and less food waste for everyone.
For growers, suppliers, and retailers, Apeel is the only postharvest solution that creates an optimal microclimate inside every piece of produce, which leads to extended shelf life and transportability — with reduced reliance on refrigeration and controlled atmosphere.
Apeel is made of plant-derived materials — lipids and glycerolipids — that exist in the peels, seeds, and pulp of all the fruits and vegetables we already eat.
Apeel is edible, safe to eat, and fully compliant with all U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. Because Apeel is made of widely used plant-derived materials that are commonly found in foods, it is designated FDA GRAS or “Generally Recognized As Safe.”
Apeel is distributed to partners as a powder and mixed up with water at the packaging center. Apeel can be applied by spray, dip, or brush on methods. You just need to get the fruit wet with Apeel and then allow it to dry.
Social and Community-Oriented Design - Systems
Social design applies a design methodology and intervention to tighten the social fabric that holds us together. Addressing issues of social inequality, such as poverty or social isolation, social design is the pathway to a more just and sustainable society. Community-oriented design is a human-centered and participatory design practice that emphasises the betterment of local communities through the improvement of public facilities, equipment, identity and experience.
All systems are designed to serve a purpose – and that purpose is to serve people. Systems design optimises systems performance by systematically focusing on the human component - human capacities, abilities, limitations and aspirations.
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