It could be a major step forward in the eternal struggle to keep fruits and veggies fresh on the trip from field to fridge. But success will hinge on one key factor: Will farmers, wholesalers and store staff do their duty?
Microneedling would be relatively inexpensive, in terms of the equipment
and materials needed. But it would probably be time- and labour-
intensive. Would the results justify the effort and expense?
Science usually operates in isolation from the real world. And often, what’s heralded as a great step forward is tripped up due to missteps by mere humans in a vital process…
$ billions could be saved
Researchers at MIT say they’ve discovered a ‘simple’ new process that could keep produce fresh several times longer than we can now. The hope is that this development could help reduce food spoilage between the farm gate and your fridge.
“The food we waste could feed about 1.6 billion people,” Benedetto Marelli, the study’s senior author. “Even in the US, this approach could one day expand access to healthy foods.”
So… What is this apparently miraculous new process? And how does it work?
Like innoculating livestock
The closest equivalent in the parallel livestock food chain would be inoculating cattle and other species against common diseases and conditions that can kill or otherwise make them unfit or unsuitable for human consumption.
But even the highly-developed animal production system hasn’t come up with a way to keep meat fresh longer.
How it works
According to MIT News, “Researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have shown they can extend the shelf life of harvested plants by injecting them with melatonin using biodegradable microneedles.
It’s a cross between regular syringe injections and the technology that makes the ‘quit smoking’ nicotine patch work.
Melatonin is a common hormone with a wide range of applications. And when researchers realized it had a role in slowing produce aging, a marriage with the tech was ‘arranged’.
“[We already knew] Melatonin is used by plants to regulate such functions,” says Marelli.
The best part
Perhaps the most significant advance in the new microneedling process is that refrigeration is not strictly needed to make it work.
Refrigeration is relatively expensive, failure prone, and not really that efficient in slowing spoilage. Just eliminating refrigeration could save billions of dollars per year associated with the transportation and storage of fresh foods.
My take
I was disappointed that the researchers did not comment on the potential cost of deploying microneedling across the produce industry. But we can assume that using it to deliver Melatonin to mass quantities of fresh fruits and veggies would save more than it cost. The tech is already relatively mature, so the cost could be accurately estimated.
The other concern I have is… Could farm and relatively low-level staff up and down the food chain be counted on to administer a microneedling program properly and reliably? Would repeat application of Melatonin patches be required to make the system work? Would missing one such application somewhre along he chain cause the whole process to fail?
Call me an old fuss-budget. Because I fundamentally am. But I always have my doubts about the reliability and viability of propositions that rely on the humans involved to ensure success…
~ Maggie J.