How to stop mould growing on fresh food

A chemical-free treatment for fresh produce that increases shelf life, prevents moulds and decay, and reduces food wastage is under development by plant disease researcher Dr Kirsty Bayliss and her Murdoch University team.

Plasma technology is being used to kill the moulds that grow on fruit and vegetables, making the fresh produce healthier for consumption and increasing shelf life. Titled ‘Breaking the Mould’, the  technology has been found to be so successful in extending the shelf life of fresh food that it has been recognised as a potential contributor to improving global health outcomes through food. Dr Bayliss has been named as a 2017 LAUNCH Food Innovator and she will be presenting her technology at an intensive global forum on food choices in San Francisco.

“I will be presenting our research to an audience comprising investors, company directors and CEOs, philanthropists and other influential people from organisations such as Fonterra, Walmart, The Gates Foundation, as well as USAID, DFAT and even Google Food! What is really exciting is the potential linkages and networks that I can develop; already NASA are interested in our work!” said Dr Bayliss. “Our technology will directly address the global food security challenge by reducing food waste and making more food available for more people.”

Dr Bayliss’s team has been working on preliminary trials for the past 18 months and is now preparing to start scaling up trials, working with commercial production facilities.