Decco Ibérica takes part in the Stop Mediterranean Food Waste project

Stop Mediterranean Food Waste is a public group of researchers and specialized companies which is working hand by hand to improve and bring innovative sustainable technologies to extend shelf-life of perishable Mediterranean fresh fruit, vegetables and aromatic plants to reduce waste. According to FAO measurements, 45% of total fruits and vegetables is never consumed. This tremendous reality varies per crop, country and stage of the value chain… but still is a quantity of fruits and resources wasted that we cannot allow. In the Mediterranean area, water is a locally resource deficit, imagine the amount of water employed to grow all this never used fruit and vegetable resources. The Stop Mediterranean Food Waste project is formed by a consortium of leading Mediterranean researchers, among which Clara Montesinos, Global R&D Development Manager at DECCO, stands out. The company supplies waxes, edible coatings, alternative antifungal products, disinfectants, equipment to apply treatments, and storage control to packinghouses.   Innovation planned within the StopMedWaste project includes the use of:    - Use of physical means, natural compounds and biocontrol agents to extend shelf-life of fruit, vegetables and aromatic plants and reduce waste    - Effects of postharvest treatments on foodborne pathogens    - Use of ICT sensors and smart packaging to monitor parameters and fruit quality during storage, transportation and shelf-life, life- cycle assessment of applied strategies together with monitoring of fresh produce quality, safety and decay during shelf-life    - Scaling up manufacture of the products developed during the Project and testing them under semi-commercial conditions Crops which are going to be studied within the project are typically grown in the Mediterranean area, such as:    - Citrus    - Pomegranates    - Stone fruit    - Strawberries    - Raspberries    - Table Grape    - Tomatoes This promising project of ours was granted public funding from the PRIMA project in 2020. We will jointly work to better know and understand the postharvest spoilage process to match the crop needs, market needs and sustainable technologies available.