Tag Archives: mangoes

More mangoes thanks to an Indian-Sri Lankan-Canadian nanotechnologyresearch project

I’ve been wondering what happened since I posted about this ‘mango’ project some years ago (my June 21, 2012 posting and my Nov. 1, 2012 posting) so, it’s nice to get an update from this Fresh Fruit Portal Feb. 4, 2015 posting,

Developed by Canadian, Indian and Sri Lankan researchers in a collaborative project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the nanotech mango boxes are said to improve the fruit’s resilience and therefore boost quality over long shipping distances.

The project – which also includes the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India and the Industrial Technical Institute, Sri Lanka – has tested the use of the bio-compound hexanal, an artificially synthesized version of a natural substance produced by injured plants to reduce post-harvest losses.

The nanotech boxes could be particularly significant for India as a world leader in mango production, as well as Sri Lanka where approximately 90,000 metric tons (MT) are produced annually.

The IDRC report says although South Asian fruit production is globally competitive, the region only meets around half of its demand due to poor processing and preservation facilities. Waste can be as high as 35% and amounts to billions of dollars in annual losses.

Historically, the Indian mango sector has suffered severe post-harvest loses due to the lack of cold chain supply infrastructure across the country, and developing a smart packing system like nanotech boxes could therefore be one way to address such challenges.

“Special boxes have been designed to reduce losses during transport. The boxes are sturdy, and can be stacked without risking damage to the fruit, and this alone can reduce post-harvest losses by 10-15%,” the IDRC report continues.

“In order to further improve the storage life of fruits during transport, the project has made a pioneering attempt to develop ‘nano-matrices’ using banana fibers to regulate the release of hexanal.

I wasn’t able to find much more about the project which ended in August 2014 but there is new work being funded as per a Jan. 23, 2015 IDRC news release,

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) today announced three new projects to be supported under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF). The projects will help prevent livestock diseases and post-harvest fruit losses that affect millions of farmers around the world, and build on the successful research carried out during CIFSRF’s first phase. [emphasis mine]

  • Researchers from the University of Guelph, Canada, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, and the Industrial Technical Institute, Sri Lanka, have shown that a natural compound known as hexanal delays the ripening of mangos. Using nanotechnology, the team will continue to develop hexanal-impregnated packaging and biowax coatings to improve the fruit’s resilience during handling and shipping for use in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. It will also expand its research to include other fruit and look at ways to commercialize the technologies.

New funding will allow the research teams to further develop the new technologies and involve partners who can bring them to market to reach greater numbers of small-holder farmers.

It seems this new round of funding will help bring these nanotechnology-enabled products to market.

FrogHeart at the 2012 S.NET conference, part 2: Canada, nano, and the mango

I was delighted to learn more about the nanotechnology collaboration between Canada, India, and Sri Lanka (mentioned in my India, Sri Lanka, and Canada team up for nanotechnology-enabled food packaging posting of June 21, 2012) at the S.Net 2012 conference.

Rumana Bukht and Sally Randles from the University of Manchester’s Business School titled their presentation, Intervention of the State on Responsible Development of Nanotechnology in Canada.

Before discussing the presentation, here’s a summary of the project from my June 21, 2012 posting,

From the June 20, 2012 University of Guelph news release,

University of Guelph scientists led by Prof. Jayasankar Subramanian will work with South Asian colleagues to develop innovative packaging using state-of-the-art nanotechnology to reduce post-harvest losses in mangoes, a vital fruit crop in South Asia.

The $2.3 million project, announced today by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will improve livelihoods for nearly one-third of the populations of India and Sri Lanka, mostly small-scale farmers.

The Guelph scientists will work with researchers from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in India and Sri Lanka’s Industrial Technology Institute.

“Invented in part at U of G, this new packaging system should reduce post-harvest losses in fruits in India and Sri Lanka, where optimal storage conditions are not readily available.”

Mangoes are the second largest fruit crop in India and third in Sri Lanka. Farmers lose 35 to 40 per cent of their crops ─ worth $800 million a year ─ because of poor storage.

The researchers will combine patented technologies to develop special fruit cartons, dividers and wraps lined with nanoparticles from coconut husks and banana plants. Using these farm waste products will help provide income for small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly women.

During her talk, Rumana mentioned hexanal as an important ingredient in this new packaging. While my notes don’t provide much information about this ingredient, I did find this great April 26, 2012 article by Arun P Mathew for the Times of India, which provides more technical detail,

K S Subramanian, head of the department of Nano Science and Technology, who is involved in the project said that the University of Guelph, Canada discovered that hexanal, a chemical extracted from plants could successfully enhance the shelf-life and quality of fruits and vegetables. A researcher at TNAU [Tamil Nadu Agricultural University] has come [up] with a nano-film, he said.

“A combination of these two technologies could help develop a nano film with hexanal, which will improve the longevity of these fruits. Through this technology, around 30 percent of the losses could be avoided. This will improve the export of fruits and vegetables and increase the sales of fruits making farming more economically viable,” he said. Subramanian said that they would first be applied on mangoes and later on other fruits, based on its success.

He said that this will be an eco-friendly product. “Hexanal has been approved by United States based, FDA ( Food and Drug Administration). …

Rumana noted there will be safety testing of this hexanal-based nano-film and the testing will take place in India (not Canada) because India has better safety equipment and personnel with the appropriate skill sets. Canada will contribute the safety protocols. If the mango project is successful, researchers are considering plums and peaches for future projects.

I did want to get more  information about this collaboration and about the Canadian nano scene. As I have noted many times, getting information is difficult and I gather Rumana experienced some of the same difficulties. At least, I’m inferring difficulty from the fact that she refused, due to confidentiality agreements, to tell me which Canadian government officials she’d spoken with although she did identify departments (Health Canada and Industry Canada). Given all the secrecy you’d think something nefarious was happening instead of an attempt to minimize food wastage.

Next: OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and public engagement at S.NET 2012

India, Sri Lanka, and Canada team up for nanotechnology-enabled food packaging

Canada’s University of Guelph keeps coming up on my radar these days. The latest news concerns a nanotechnology-enabled food packaging technology. From the June 20, 2012 University of Guelph news release,

University of Guelph scientists led by Prof. Jayasankar Subramanian will work with South Asian colleagues to develop innovative packaging using state-of-the-art nanotechnology to reduce post-harvest losses in mangoes, a vital fruit crop in South Asia.

The $2.3 million project, announced today by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will improve livelihoods for nearly one-third of the populations of India and Sri Lanka, mostly small-scale farmers.

The Guelph scientists will work with researchers from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in India and Sri Lanka’s Industrial Technology Institute.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with leading scientists and institutes in Asia to raise the income of poor farmers and make food more nutritious and secure,” said Subramanian, a professor in Guelph’s Department of Plant Agriculture.

“Invented in part at U of G, this new packaging system should reduce post-harvest losses in fruits in India and Sri Lanka, where optimal storage conditions are not readily available.”

Mangoes are the second largest fruit crop in India and third in Sri Lanka. Farmers lose 35 to 40 per cent of their crops ─ worth $800 million a year ─ because of poor storage.

The researchers will combine patented technologies to develop special fruit cartons, dividers and wraps lined with nanoparticles from coconut husks and banana plants. Using these farm waste products will help provide income for small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly women.

I hope to hear more about this project as it progresses and hopefully next time, there’ll be a few more technical details. The mention of coconut husks and banana plants makes me wonder if they are talking about nanocellulose in some form or other.

For anyone who’s interested in the international aid aspects (from the news release),

The project is among six new initiatives funded by IDRC and CIDA under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF). The five-year, $62-million project links researchers in Canada and developing countries to address hunger and food insecurity in the developing world.

I last wrote about Sri Lanka and its nanotechnology efforts in my June 4, 2012 posting and I have mentioned India’s nanotechnology efforts several times but perhaps the most relevant, as per this item was in my April 4, 2012 posting.

ETA Oct. 31,2012: Minor grammatical changes were made in the final sentence. ‘Time’ was changed to ‘times’ and I removed the words ‘recent mention’ as they made no sense in the sentence.