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AS THE GLOBAL POPULATION CONTINUES TO RISE, THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE AND MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF FOOD HAS BECOME AN EVER-INCREASING CRUCIAL ISSUE THAT MANY ANIMAL SCIENTISTS, AGRICULTURISTS, AND FOOD SCIENTISTS FACE. WITH ALL THE RESOURCES ALLOCATED TO THE PRODUCTION AND QUALITY CONTROL OF FOOD, IT IS NECESSARY TO CURTAIL THE AMOUNT OF FOOD THAT IS WASTED. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS DISCARD 211 KG OF FOOD WASTE PER YEAR, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE PERISHABLE FOODS, SUCH AS MEATS, WHICH ARE OFTEN LOST DUE TO POOR STORAGE CONDITIONS. ANOTHER STUDY CLAIMS THAT 10% OF THE FOOD WITHIN AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS IS WASTED ANNUALLY, COSTING APPROXIMATELY $390 PER CAPITA; WHICH TRANSLATES NATIONALLY TO A VALUE OF $165.6 BILLION IN WASTE ANNUALLY. IN THE USA, AS WELL AS OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, MINIMIZING FOOD WASTE IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY GOALS IN ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY, AND IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE. IN PARTICULAR, FISH IS ONE OF THE MOST PERISHABLE AQUATIC FOODS SINCE IT IS EASILY BACTERIA SPOILED AND VERY TEND TO OXIDATION. THEREFORE, FISH HAS A SHELF LIFE OF ONLY UP TO 4 DAYS WHEN STORED IN A TYPICAL REFRIGERATOR. THE TEAM HAS DEVELOPED A PROPRIETARY SUPERCOOLING TECHNOLOGY THAT PRESERVES PERISHABLE MATERIALS AT BELOW-FREEZING TEMPERATURES WITHOUT FORMATION OF ICE CRYSTALS USING ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS. SINCE WATER IN FOOD IS DIAMAGNETIC AND ALSO CONSISTS OF DIPOLE MOLECULES WHICH TEND TO REALIGN AND RE-ORIENTATE, THE APPLIED ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS DIRECTLY ACT UPON WATER TO PREVENT ICE NUCLEATION AND PROMOTE SUPERCOOLING DURING THE FREEZING PROCESS. SUPERCOOLED FOODS CAN BE MAINTAINED IN THEIR NATURAL STATE FOR WEEKS WITH THE SAME FRESHNESS FACTORS THEY HAD BEFORE BEING SUPERCOOLED. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT INVENTION HAS TECHNICAL AND SCALABILITY LIMITS IN TERMS OF SAMPLE AND STORAGE SIZES BECAUSE THE ELECTRIC FIELD ELECTRODES NEED DIRECT CONTACT WITH FOOD MATERIALS. THEREFORE, THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS INTEDNED TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A RADIO FREQUENCY-BASED ALTERNATING ELECTRIC FIELD (AEF) WAVE HAVING NON-CONTACT ELECTRODE UNITS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OSCILLATING MAGNETIC FIELD (OMF) TO PRESERVE FRESH FOOD MATERIALS IN LARGER SCALES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WORK PLAN INCLUDES (1) DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE SCALED-UP SUPERCOOLING DEVICE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF PERISHABLE FOODS SUCH AS SASHIMI GRADE FISH FILLETS, (2) VALIDATION OF THE QUALITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MID- AND LONG-TERM SUPERCOOLING PROCESS, AND (3) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSED SUPERCOOLING TECHNOLOGY FOR MODEL FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN. SUPERCOOLING IS EXPECTED TO POSE A GREAT POTENTIAL TO ADD VALUE TO COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE SUPPLY CHAIN BY EXTENDING THE FRESH QUALITY OF FOOD AND MINIMIZING WASTES.

$481,940FY2021National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

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