Nanotech mango boxes to reduce post-harvest fruit losses

Mangoes: much-loved by consumers, but so difficult to transport. An international team of researchers has developed special packaging that will help ensure mangoes reach their destination in prime condition.

The researchers, from Canada, Sri Lanka and India, discovered that a natural compound called hexanal delays the ripening of mangoes. From there, they used nanotechnology to develop hexanal-impregnated packaging and biowax coatings to improve the fruit’s resilience and shipping.

The team is now expanding its work to include other fruit and look at ways to commercialise the technologies.

The research has received funding from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF). According to Jean Lebel, president of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), this project - along with several others recently announced - “will improve the lives of poor small-holder farmers and strengthen rural economies”.

“At the same time, we are identifying the most effective ways of taking these food security solutions and achieving large-scale impacts with them,” said Lebel.

Along with the IDRC and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, the CIFSRF has also announced two other projects to prevent livestock disease. To date, more than 100,000 farmers in poor communities around the world have worked with researchers to develop many promising CIFSRF research results.