Western Innovator: New way to keep produce fresh

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — James Rogers was driving through the iconic Salinas Valley and listening to a lecture on world hunger when he got an idea.

He was working on his doctorate in material sciences at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and his research involved preserving such materials as steel. His studies led to frequent trips up the coast to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

“I was cruising up (Highway) 101 ... and listening to an article on world hunger,” Rogers said. “I just happened to be driving through the Salinas Valley at the time and I saw these lush, green fields.

“The question was on my mind, ‘If we’ve got these magical seeds that we can grow in the ground ... how is it still possible that people are going hungry?’” he said. “It seems in theory that we should be able to feed more people.”

That thought led Rogers, 32, and several of his fellow doctoral students to start a company called Apeel Sciences and invent a product called Edipeel, a natural preservative made from food compounds that shippers or retailers can spray on produce to increase its shelf life.

News Date: 

Friday, August 18, 2017