In the process of transporting produce all the way to supermarkets , it is estimated that 52% of fresh fruits and vegetables go to waste before they even make it to the consumer (US figures).
With the problem of food wastage on top of his mind, Zhafri Zainudin set out to change the agriculture industry by introducing StixFresh, a labeling sticker that prolongs the freshness and shelf life of certain types of fruits. StixFresh stickers are coated with a mixture of sodium chloride and beeswax, which slows down the fruit ripening process by removing ethylene.
Beyond the time-consuming shipping process, it’s a constant struggle to ensure the produce arrives in the best possible condition. For retailers, these losses equate to lower margins which in turn affects their cash flow negatively.
With the goal to make fruit last longer in a natural way, Zhafri spent almost 3 years to perfect the sticker in terms of efficacy and manufacturing process. StixFresh was then officially established in 2017. “We did a joint development with our local university UPM, research institutions and agencies such as Mardi and SIRIM, and recently with Bogor University and University of South Australia,” Zhafri added.
In the beginning, StixFresh was only targeted to extend the shelf life of mangoes. Later on, they only found out that it also works on other types of fruits which have almost the same size, and other similarities such as skin texture, diseases and fungal attack. StixFresh now works best on mango, avocados, papaya, dragon fruits, star fruits, apple and pears.
Source: vulcanpost.com
