The Science Behind Stix Fresh: Keeping Fruits Fresh and Flavorful

Ever thought that a sticker can protect fruits? Yes, here is a sticker named “Stix Fresh” that can protect the fruit from rapid spoilage.

What actually StixFresh is?

A naturally manufactured sticker called Stix Fresh is applied to the surface of a fruit or vegetable to delay ripening and lengthen shelf life.

Why StixFresh?

According to FAO, one third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted annually, which is sufficient to feed a significant portion of the world’s undernourished people.

Given that in India alone, fresh fruits and vegetables lose 30 to 40 percent of their total quantity from the farm to the refrigerator. It represents a yearly loss of many hundred billion of Indian Rupees.

With their ability to increase fruit’s shelf life by up to 14 days, StixFresh stickers as a result may be able to reduce food waste and hunger.

• It gives more time to reach customers

• It uses no chemicals and keeps the fruit moist and flavorful.

Source- http://www.stixfreshindia.com/

Source- UNEP Food waste index report

What’s StixFresh made up of ?

The StixFresh stickers are coated with sodium chloride and beeswax mixture that inhibits the ripening of fruit by eliminating ethylene, the ripening hormone generally found in fresh food, from the air around the product.

How does it work?

• The sticker works in a manner similar to how plants naturally defend themselves against post-harvest illnesses. 

• The sticker thus develops a protective barrier and slows the ripening process by using 100% natural antibacterial ingredients.
• StixFresh can greatly increase the freshness and shelf life of food. The chemicals start to spread as soon as they affix the sticker to the fruit, forming a protective barrier that covers its surface.

• Plants develop secondary metabolites to defend themselves when exposed to external environmental elements that could be detrimental. For example, alkaloids, steroids, lipids, tannins, and sugars—all naturally occurring compounds—help plants fend off bothersome predators like insects, diseases, and occasionally even other invasive plant species. 
• Several of these substances work to defend a sizable area by activating and moving through their vapour phase.

• They combined these materials to generate a formulation that is currently under patent, and we applied it to the non-stick side of the sticker.”
• In essence, StixFresh has repurposed these substances to give fruit a comparable barrier of protection.

• StixFresh especially limit bacterial development, which would slow overripening, according to independent research. Fruits that have been treated also exhibit greater flavour, hardness, and moisture retention.

• A study by Dr. Phebe Ding compared the cellular structure of a mango with StixFresh (left) and one without (right). She concluded that “The sticker has reduced the disease incidence of fruits, which could indirectly prolong the shelf life of fruits.”

Here are the few fruits with and without stixfresh-

Is stixfresh effective?

Multiple comparative testing shows that StixFresh gives truly remarkable outcomes. Check out the difference one sticker can make for yourself.

 Best Applicable on

For now, the stickers work best on 

• pears
• mangos
• avocados
• dragon fruits 
• kiwis
• oranges 
• other citrus fruits

Stix Fresh company also hopes to extend the process to vegetables and berries by developing other product formats, such as sachets or sheets, that they can place in the clamshell.

At the Global Food Innovation Awards, StixFresh won two prizes: 

Best Sustainability Project and Best Packaging Technology.

Future goals-

On apples, avocados, citrus fruits, mangoes, and other fruit, the stickers work well. The team led by Zainudin(inventor) is currently developing additional versions that will extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables as well.

They want to safeguard the environment while also saving money for farmers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers by minimizing food waste.

45% of fruits and vegetables worldwide are wasted. Such a big issue could never be solved by one product alone. Yet, by working together, we may make significant results using all-natural StixFresh. From the comfort of your own kitchen, you are changing the world with each and every sticker.

“Miracle-A coin-size sticker is protecting a fruit”

Gamechanger for fresh fruit where it addresses future sustainability!

Let us think of such kind innovative ideas to bring down spoilage or food waste and there will be reduction on carbon footprint!!!

Stixfresh website- http://www.stixfreshindia.com/