Non Technical Summary
50% of produce goes uneaten. Loss in the produce supply chain costs $80B each year in the United States and represents a tremendous waste of key natural resources: land, water, and energy. A major cause of loss in the agricultural supply chain is spoilage brought on by fungi and bacteria. Postharvest pathogenic damage can be mitigated by a variety of strategies, such as applying fungicides, ozone, chlorine, or selectively ripening the produce near the point of consumer purchase. Often, these techniques are not suitable options due to consumer preference or specific commodity demands. This project seeks to develop a system for integrating sustained delivery of organic fungicides into horticultural product packaging. Specifically, this research targets the berry and grape produce commodities. Several essential oil derivatives of herbs are known to possess fungicidal properties. However, application of these low-volatility oils as sprays can result in undesirable organoleptic effects, such as changes to the taste profiles of target commodities. This project will develop a method to deliver volatile active ingredients over time via an in-package insert. By deploying the active ingredient essential oils as a low concentration vapor, we aim to slow fungal growth without negatively affecting taste profile. We measure success by quantifying fungal growth suppression in vitro across a range of release materials. Essential oil release can be quantified by a range of established material science characterization techniques. A 3rd party taste panel will screen final formulations for organoleptic effects. Finally, in partnership with established berry firms, we will test our product's capacity to reduce fungal growth in commercial environments.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
503	1129	2000	80%
503	1130	2000	20%

Knowledge Area
503 - Quality Maintenance in Storing and Marketing Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1129 - Berries and cane fruits, general/other; 1130 - Table grapes;

Field Of Science
2000 - Chemistry;

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to protect fungally-sensitive produce with an in-package paper product capable of the delivery of antifungal essential oils for organic and conventionally produced fruit. This product will increase the shelf-life of highly perishable fruits like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and grapes by retarding the growth of mold and fungus. The antifungal technology proposed here has the potential to dramatically increase the efficiency of the supply chain within the above produce catagories. The combined production of berries and grapes in the United States in 2014 approached $10B. Domestic waste in the agricultural supply chain can approach 20%, with vulnerabilities in soft fruits the highest of all. In particular, organic farmers have very few options in the postharvest control of fungus.Objectives:(1) Arrive at a material formulation that releases antifungal essential oil vapors over a period of time relevant to multi-day produce shipping.(2) Quantify the optimium dose parameters for reducing fungal growth using the product.(3) Use the learnings of 1 and 2 to develop a suitable packaging-based carrier for the technology.

Project Methods
The project will use a multidisciplinary basket of techniques to assess matrix materials for suitability ofessential oil delivery. Vapor release will be characteristed with gas chromatography. Essential oil release will be tracked accross multiple validated analytes known from the literature to possess antifungal properties.Frequent produce trials in target commodities, with trial size targeted to specific statistical power and effect size, will be used to rapidly validate and compare new formulations.