(Apeel Sciences video)

The coronavirus pandemic has presented opportunities to re-examine existing systems — health care, politics, education, weather, transportation, supply chains.

One system that has been particularly disrupted by COVID-19 is the fresh food supply chain. The turmoil has caused tremendous food waste, but it has also shed light on opportunities for avoiding such waste.

A privately held Goleta company, Apeel Sciences, is using technology to do just that.

Apeel applies an edible, plant-based coating to fruits and vegetables to extend their shelf life without refrigeration. The application is derived from lipids and glycerolipids found in the peels, skins and seeds of fruits and vegetables, essentially coating produce with produce.

The protective coating extends the perishability window of produce, giving the supply chain more time to sort, ship and deliver high-quality fruits and vegetables while minimizing waste.

According to Apeel, its application saved 20 million fruits from ending up in landfills in 2020.

Apeel’s latest development is hyperspectral imaging technology that can predict the internal quality of foods. The technology maps the exact ripening window for each piece of fruit, which distributors then use to match supply and demand with optimally ripened product and less waste.

Additionally, hyperspectral imaging is enabling Apeel to develop the largest and most comprehensive database of objective fresh produce insights for the global food industry. The company is working hard to integrate the imaging technology into all of its application systems; the faster they move, the less produce will be wasted.

The opportunity for food waste reduction is huge; one-third of food grown goes to waste before it can be consumed.

Apeel founder James Rogers became focused on reducing food waste while listening to a podcast on global hunger as he drove through California’s abundant farm country. He took inspiration from nature’s own methods of preservation and went to work developing Apeel’s technology.

Having earned an master’s in Economics at UC Santa Barbara, Rogers went on to earn a Ph.D. in Material Sciences at UCSB. Upon completion of his Ph.D. in 2012, he founded Apeel in Goleta with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We couldn’t think of a better location to scale a company that is inspired by nature,” an Apeel statement said of its Goleta headquarters at 71 S. Los Carneros Road. Apeel currently employs 300 people worldwide.

In addition to using technology to reduce food waste, Apeel also directly reduces the use of petroleum-based waxes and single-use plastics in grocery stores.

Synthetic waxes are regularly applied to fruits — apples, melons, even pineapples — to make them more visually attractive to shoppers. But wax is not an effective preservative.

In contrast, Apeel’s coating is made of plant-derived materials that effectively slow water loss and oxidation, the two biggest factors that cause spoilage. Thus, in contrast to waxes, Apeel’s coating enhances the optics of fruits and vegetables via preservation rather than pageantry.

Single-use plastic shrink wrap used for produce (i.e. cucumbers in shrink wrap), does in fact slow water loss and retain freshness. However, shrink wrap plastics are less effective in preservation than Apeel’s plant-based coating, and they’re rarely recycled.

“Apeel’s plant-based protection makes produce last longer without the use of single-use plastics,” according to the Apeel website.

By applying the Apeel coating to Houweling’s cucumbers, Apeel has prevented the use of more than 60,000 pounds of plastic.

According to Apeel, “On average, U.S. retailers that use Apeel have experienced a 50% reduction in shrink (wrap).” Additionally, those retailers see “a 5% to 10% growth in dollar sales.”

Apeel partners directly with fresh food suppliers that applythe company’s plant-based protection in the packinghouse. To date, more than 30 supplier installations and tens of thousands of retailers carry Apeel produce.

Locally, Apeel avocados are carried by Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres and Ralphs markets.

The company’s growth is being driven by suppliers, retailers and consumers looking for food options that will reduce waste and help address climate change. To accelerate growth, Apeel has taken on key investors, including Singapore-based Temasek, International Finance Corporation in Washington, D.C., and Upfront Ventures of Los Angeles, as well as local investors like Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry.

The COVID-19 disruption of the fresh food supply chain has driven both food waste and food shortages around the world. For Apeel, the loss has underscored its goals.

“The pandemic reinforced our founding mission … to make sustainable food systems a reality,” the company said in a statement.

In thinking about the long-term implications of better food preservation and improved efficiency in the fresh food supply chain, the Apeel team is focused on the tremendous amount of capital — an estimated $2.6 trillion annually — that could be freed by eliminating global food waste.

“Food waste is an invisible tax imposed on everyone that participates in the food system,” Rogers explained.

And through its technology, Apeel is totally focused on helping make the food ecosystem better for growers, distributors, retailers, consumers and the planet.

— Lizzy Fallows is a Santa Barbara-based freelance writer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com.