Karpolax

Short Solution Description: 

Karpolax has developed sachets that can be placed in fruit boxes during delivery or storage. They preserve fruits by releasing a formulation obtained by combining molecules that decrease the rate of ripening in fruits, giving the farmer and retailer an extra shelf life of 33 days.

Karpolax works by inhibiting phospholipase D activity. Phospholipase D is the key enzyme involved in the initiation of membrane deterioration that ultimately leads to senescence.

The sachets produced are composed of molecules combined using green nanotechnology.

The Problem:

30% of all food produced never reaches the market, not to mention that the world population is increasing daily and the landmass is not. This causes losses of billions to the global economy, and small-scale holder farmers are forced to take a small profit or nothing at all.

The global economy is at stake because of the low shelf life of fruits, which contributes to over 3 Billion losses as a result of 12 million tonnes of fruits and 21 million tonnes of vegetables lost each year.

Additionally, Each year, about 1 in 7 people worldwide die from health-related disorders such as heart disease and strokes caused by not eating enough fruit, and about 1 in 12 people die due to the same reasons from not eating enough vegetables.

Finally, the extraordinarily hot and cold temperatures that are becoming more common as climate change accelerates are responsible for 5 million deaths globally every year, caused by a contribution of 2.5 Gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions which could be reduced by increasing the shelf life of fruits.

What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year? 

Karpolax currently needs to raise $150,000 to launch into the market and hire more staff.