CHICAGO – Hazel Technologies, Inc., a USDA-funded agricultural technology company delivering new solutions to combat food waste, today announced it has been selected as winner of the “Overall Post Harvest Solution of the Year” award in the 2021 AgTech Breakthrough Awards conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global AgTech market today.
Hazel Tech®’s flagship technology is a small sachet packed with earth abundant and natural materials which slow decay. The sachet also includes active ingredients specific to each crop – like antifungal vapors or compounds that inhibit the rot-causing gas ethylene – which create a timed release so that the produce is continually treated as it ships.
The sachets are placed in boxes of bulk produce at the time of harvest, thereby extending the shelf-life of produce up to three times by slowing aging in produce and preventing decay. Slowing down the ripening process translates to more time to store or ship the product, benefiting farmers, grocery stores and consumers alike.
With Hazel sachets there are no new chemicals going into the food supply and nothing that leaves any residue. Additionally, Hazel’s technology does not require any capital investment to use, like an expensive line or engineer to apply a spray or coating.
“We are grateful to AgTech Breakthrough for this recognition and hope that it will help us shed light on the issues we have set out to help solve. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas contributor on the planet,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO, Hazel Technologies Inc. “We believe that Hazel’s solutions are unique because they are built for both food supply and distribution chains as they currently exist. They require no additional infrastructure, expensive machinery or staff training. Our products exist to help growers, packers, and retailers all over the world.”
The mission of the annual AgTech Breakthrough Awards program is to conduct the industry’s most comprehensive analysis and evaluation of agricultural and food technology categories, including Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based agricultural technologies, farm management, indoor farming, food quality, data analytics and many more. This year’s program attracted more than 1,500 nominations from over 15 different countries throughout the world.
“Technological focus on reducing food waste across the supply chain, and dramatically broadening access to quality, perishable foods for retailers and consumers is a global-changing innovation – because food waste is not just a human tragedy but an environmental tragedy. Hazel’s technologies are an integral part of the solution,” said Bryan Vaughn, Managing Director of AgTech Breakthrough Awards. “Hazel’s innovative technologies position it to help many of the world’s largest agribusinesses dramatically reduce food waste and secure bigger profits. Congratulations on winning our ‘Overall Post Harvest Solution of the Year’ award.”
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About Hazel Technologies, Inc.
Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new solutions to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce and reduce food waste. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech® services over 200 of the world’s largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers. Selected as a Finalist for Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas and winner of “Best Sustainable Packaging” at the 2020 World Food Innovation Awards, the company’s patent-pending technologies have been tested by top academic research programs. In 2021, Hazel is on track to be used with over 6.3 billion pounds of fresh produce, preventing more than 500 million pounds from going to waste. For more information, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com.
About AgTech Breakthrough
Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the AgTech Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in agricultural technologies, services, companies and products. The AgTech Breakthrough Awards program provides a forum for public recognition around the achievements of AgTech companies and solutions in categories including farm management, indoor farming, automation, IoT and robotics, food quality, analytics and more. For more information visit AgTechBreakthrough.com.
