Why would you give a pear an electric shock?
Fruits and vegetables are an essential component of a healthy diet. But efforts to increase their shelf life, such as pasteurisation and antimicrobial washes, can harm their nutritional profile. The EU-funded Shealthy project is using a combination of non-thermal sanitisation, preservation and stabilisation methods as a means of improving the safety, quality and freshness of produce. The project has now been featured in the CORDIS series of explanatory videos titled Make the Connection. “Because local produce has a very short shelf life, most of the F&Vs found in grocery stores are imported and have been treated with chemicals that could be harmful to our health and the environment,” says Elena Torrieri, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II. “The project aims to answer consumers’ demand for fresh, healthy, convenient, sustainable, locally produced and additive-free food that is both safe and nutritious.” Processes developed by Shealthy were able to extend the shelf life of produce by up to 50 %, increase the nutritional value of juices and smoothies by up to 130 %, and reduce food losses by 40 %. ‘Make the connection with EU-science’ is a series of explanatory videos focusing on the scientific content and exploitation aspects of EU research projects.
Keywords
SHEALTHY, fruits and vegetables, healthy diet, food systems, farmers, food processors