Source: MIRTECH, INC. submitted to NRP
DEVELOPMENT OF CONTROLLED RELEASE IN-TRANSIT RIPENING TECHNOLOGY FOR DELIVERING READY-TO-EAT FRUITS TO DISTRIBUTION CENTERS FOR DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1009473
Grant No.
2016-33610-25356
Cumulative Award Amt.
$100,000.00
Proposal No.
2016-01061
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 15, 2016
Project End Date
Apr 14, 2018
Grant Year
2016
Program Code
[8.5]- Food Science & Nutrition
Recipient Organization
MIRTECH, INC.
20 LYNN CT
NORTH BRUNSWICK,NJ 089022700
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The objective of this project is to develop an in-transit ripening technology for pears that would help fulfill the long sought need of the industry, which is to deliver and display ripened ready-to-eat pears year-round at retail. The motivation is to overcome the limitations of the current supply chain logistics wherein fruits may be delivered to retail in lower than desirable consumer preferred eating quality which would impact repeat sales and subsequent consumption of fresh pears. The proposed technology will help the industry improve distribution efficiency and tap into new market segments such as quick service restaurants, school meal programs, long distance domestic and international export markets for fresh pears and other climacteric fruits.The technology is typically used in long distance transits (for example, from a producer in Oregon to a distribution center in Michigan) which allow sufficient time for the technology to work properly. An optional component of this technology is to include 1-methylcyclopropene gas (1-MCP) for quality management of the ripened fruits at the distribution centers. This would help delay further ripening and provide a sufficient marketing/consumer consumption window of 7 to 8 days that would fit well with the once a week shopping habit of majority of American consumers.In Phase I, we will develop an ethylene encapsulation system, in the form of a powder or gel, to be placed inside a water vapor permeable sachet. The release of ethylene can be activated by water vapor generated from the respiration of fresh pears during transit.The technical objective is to optimize the ethylene adsorption structures to provide the desirable release profiles of ethylene for ripening pears and other fruits. Our team has many years of experience working with fresh fruits including pears, encapsulation technology, and shelf life extension technologies. This experience will help ensure the success of this project. We also have strong support from the produce industry, which will provide us with guidance and technical assistance for the development and commercialization of our technology. Besides fresh market pear, the application of our technology will be extended to other fruits in Phase II of this project.
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
30%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
50311151020100%
Knowledge Area
503 - Quality Maintenance in Storing and Marketing Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1115 - Pear;

Field Of Science
1020 - Physiology;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the project is to develop an in-transit ripening process for pears and other climacteric fruits such as banana which require exogenous ethylene for ripening and optimum eating quality. The technology once developed will ensure that climacteric fruits that require ethylene to ripen arrive supermarkets in optimal eating quality thereby contributing in reducing child obesity (SBIR 1.6.1).
Project Methods
The research methods relate tofollowing major activities: (1) to improve the ethylene inclusion rate of the MirTech proprietarymaterials, (2) to develop the sachets for ethylene storage, handling, and release, and (3) to evaluate biological performance of the sachets.MirTech proprietary materials andcylodextrinswill be evaluated for their abilities to provide higher inclusion rates for both commercial and economic reasons. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. MirTech proprietary materials can be tailored well to obtain the desired adsorption, but it is more expensive than cyclodextrinsand the stability of ethylene in MirTech proprietary materialsneeds to be optimized for long term storage.

Progress 08/15/16 to 04/14/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The technology will help the pear industry to supply premium fruit quality to the consumer markets at ready-to-eat state which we believe will lead to more pear consumption and increased pear sales. The technology will also help the fruit industry to cater to the just-in-time type inventory management concept as the technology will minimize its reliance on ripening at distribution centers rather the fruit will arrive in a ready-to-eat state to the distribution center. Therefore, our target audiences are identified as growers in the major pear producing states such as Washington, Oregon and California, packers, distributors and retailers to help them with overall revenue generation; and final consumers to supply them fruits with premium quality. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provides MirTech with opportunities to collaborate with Rutgers University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, and train graduate students and young innovators in the practical approach of conducting research. It is a useful training platform for students to become professionals. Multiple graduate and undergraduate students have been involved in the Phase I research, and as a result, one graduate student graduated with a Masters Degree due to the contribution of the research activities conducted in this research project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We are preparing a manuscript based on the Phase I research and plan to submit to top peer reviewed scientific journals in the field of Food Science and Horticulture Science to disseminate the knowledge we obtained during Phase I research. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In Phase I, we developed an ethylene formulation which is placed inside a water vapor permeable sachet. The release of ethylene can be activated by water vapor maintained during transit. We characterized material properties for various ethylene formulations and sachet materials, and developed a scaled up system for producing the product. We have also proved the bio-efficacy of the developed technology on Bartlett pears and further on tomatoes.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Controlled Release of Ethylene for In-transit Ripening of Pears (in preparation)