When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot.”
Ray Kroc
The general philosophy of the consumer has shifted as of late. More health conscious than ever, shoppers choose natural foods grown without preservatives, pesticides, or fertilizers.
With natural foods in high demand, natural obstacles will arise, and producers should do what they can to defend their businesses from the financial fallout of these threats.
From a global market perspective, the organic food market is an exciting opportunity. With projected growth to reach a revenue of $484.0 billion by 2030[1], many mouths are watering in anticipation.
However, the competition is stiff for producers and distributors of natural food products. Apart from other businesses in your space, foodborne fungi present a massive threat to operations, bottom lines, and consumer trust.
What the Hell are Molds and Fungi?
Molds are fungi, most of which are visible to the human eye when they form groups. Scientists don’t know the exact number of mold types present on Earth. There likely are more than 300,000.[2]
One of the many reasons mold spreads so rapidly is that it reproduces using spores that can spread through water, air, or even insects. Once transported to a new surface, these spores will germinate and produce new hyphae to begin the process once again.
Think about how honeybees pollinate flowers; that’s how mold spores move from one place to the next with ease – moving through either abiotic or biotic pollination.
- Abiotic Pollination: when a non-biological entity assists in transportation of spores (gravity, water, air).
- Biotic Pollination: occurs when a spore moves from one place to the next through a biological medium (birds, flies, honeybees).
Whether indoor or outdoors, mold can colonize and proliferate if given the proper conditions. In keeping with best food practices, we should aim to deploy solutions that tackle mold/fungi while aligning with grower/distributor budgets and consumer desires.
As infection prevention experts, we recommend vineyards, cannabis farms, breweries, and more to use the excellent antimicrobial solution Biotrexx 247 from our partners at Clearstream Technologies.
Treating the Environment
Every year there are millions of tons of pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, and many other ‘cides you’ve probably never heard of applied to the environment that grows our food.
According to a survey from the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS), “apple growers applied both fungicides and other chemicals equally to 89% of the acres. Peach and blueberry growers applied fungicides to 86% and 85% of acres, respectively.”[3]
The use of these chemicals can create long-term health issues in the farmers using them, negatively impact the soil, and have potential health implications on the consumer end. Let’s try to keep natural natural.
In order to do this, we need to find solutions and methodologies that work in cooperation with nature and not disrupt it. Think about greenhouses that supply vegetables, fruits, herbs, and more while providing year-round growing. What’s an effective way to eliminate the threat of molds, mildews, fungi, and dangerous bacteria from affecting your crops? Well, we believe that using a patented, residual antimicrobial solution Biotrexx 247, holds the answer.
How Does Biotrexx 247 Work?
The active ingredient in Biotrexx 247 forms a colorless, odorless, positively charged polymer (a substance with a molecular structure consisting of many similar units bonded together) and chemically bonds to the treated surface.
It helps to think of this technology as a layer of electrically charged swords enveloping the target surface. Contrary to leaching solutions (most solutions these days), when a microorganism encounters the Biotrexx treated surface, its cell membrane becomes punctured by the molecular “sword,” and the electrical charge shocks the cell. The antimicrobial doesn’t lose strength, and the sword remains ready for the next cell to contact it.
Most conventional leaching disinfecting solutions do well to quickly kill bacteria and fungi despite having a limited spectrum of effectiveness. Manufacturers of these solutions design them to kill fast and disappear rapidly to avoid adverse effects on humans and animals due to the toxic nature of their ingredients.
The target microbes will absorb the leaching chemical solutions, which poison and destroy them from within the confines of their cell membranes. However, one of the critical consequences of leaching solutions is the ability of the microorganism to develop resistance to the chemical.
If a cell absorbs the chemical yet the chemical doesn’t kill it, the cell will develop defense mechanisms against it. Antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance is a cascading threat to our way of life, so solutions need to account for microbes’ willingness to survive.
Indoor Opportunties
Many companies that produce natural and organic products own facilities that can produce year-round. However, an underlying issue plaguing indoor grow houses is controlling mold, mildew, fungi, amongst a host of other microbial threats that damage crops, structures, tools, and margins.
Treating your “environment” with Biotrexx 247 is a fantastic solution. Using the bonding technology, you can apply it to the interior walls, floors, ceilings, tools, you name it to eliminate the threat of dangerous microbes.
But how does a surface disinfectant actively eliminate spores that can travel through the air? Well, if you recall, Biotrexx is electrically charged. This means that the positive charge of the solution attracts the negatively charged spores, bringing them into the surface where they are punctured and killed. The residual aspects of this formula allow it to constantly pull spores out of the air so long as it is on the surface.
And best yet, you don’t need to spray often and can avoid spraying the plants and soil directly. Providing the safest, healthiest environment possible for you to produce and distribute organic goods.
How Biotrexx 247 Helps Food Distributors
How many times have you purchased “fresh” produce from the grocery store only to have it mold in the packaging two days later? Leaving you frustrated and your garbage bin full. According to the non-profit organization
Feeding America, the United States tosses nearly 108 billion pounds of food per annum. This figure equates to more than 130 billion meals and more than $400 billion in food thrown away yearly.[4]
For those who grow and distribute natural foods, mold and fungi present the most dangerous foe. Because, just like us, mold prefers organic. However, predicting microbial growth depends on innumerable variables. Packaging materials, manufacturing processes, shipping requirements, and water content levels are just a few of the things that food scientists are thinking about when determining the best distribution methods. Controlling a wide range of microbial growth is another story.
Supermarkets are responsible for 10% of all U.S. food waste. The food supply chain wastes 45% of all produce, 35% of seafood, 30% of cereals, and 20% of meat and dairy products each year.[5] As you can see, there is something wrong with how our food is packaged.
Due to Biotrexx’s 247 ability to bond the target surfaces and puncture cell membranes, this antimicrobial affords distributors an excellent opportunity to reduce those waste numbers mentioned above. Remember that layer of “swords?” Envision that they exist on every inch of your food package or growing environment; microbes won’t stand a chance to colonize and grow. An agnostic application process allows the solution to form to any style of food packaging, shipping containers, beverage barrels, you name it.
Yes, Biotrexx is EPA-registered and FDA-approved. It is currently and successfully working in cattle farms, tomato farms, and other vital agricultural specialties to combat microbial and fungal growth. Since everyone on Earth is akin to food consumption, we should demand that our food packaging use better antimicrobial and preventative measures to reduce food waste due to microbial growth.
Conclusion
The consumer trend of “organic” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Which is a good thing; we all deserve to have fresh, natural food options. That doesn’t negate the fact that food packaging and preservation tactics are necessary. If we can avoid spraying food/crops directly and better contain microbial growth in packaging, we can dramatically reduce these alarming food waste numbers.
On the flip side, the lack of microbial presence in the package can enable food to stay fresh longer.
Part of our philosophy at Safety Net when onboarding new products are to identify people, pet, and planet-friendly solutions. All our solutions are evidence-based, rigorously tested, and commonly reevaluated for effectiveness. Strike first to protect your harvest and your packages, increase your output, and improve consumer trust using our antimicrobial technology.
References
[1] Dive, R. (2022, June 1). Global Organic Food Market Anticipated to Generate a Revenue of $484.0 Billion and Rise at a CAGR of 11.77% over the Forecast Period from 2022 to 2030 [220-Pages] | Report by Research Dive. Cision PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-organic-food-market-anticipated-to-generate-a-revenue-of-484-0-billion-and-rise-at-a-cagr-of-11-77-over-the-forecast-period-from-2022-to-2030-220-pages–report-by-research-dive-301558622.html
[2] What to Know About Molds on Food. (2021, December 10). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-mold-food
[3] NASS. (2022). (rep.). 2021 Fruit Chemical Use. USDA. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Economic_Releases/Fruit_and_Vegetable_Crop_Chemical_Usage/2021%20Fruit%20Chemical%20Use%20-%20Highlights.pdf.
[4] Food Waste in America | Feeding America. (2019). Feeding America. https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/our-approach/reduce-food-waste#:%7E:text=How%20much%20food%20waste%20is,food%20in%20America%20is%20wasted.
[5] S. (2020). Supermarkets Moving Toward Zero Food Waste. Smart Sense. https://blog.smartsense.co/supermarkets-zero-food-waste