Multifunctional bio-protectors for postharvest fruits

Improve the safety and nutritional quality of Cape gooseberry and strawberry fruits after harvest through the formulation and application of Multifunctional Bio-protectors. The development of MBs for fruit protection proposes a crucial technological innovation that is linked to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, "Good Health and Well-being", and SDG 12 "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns". From this scope, a sustainable strategy is proposed, which consists of ensuring fruit preservation, decreasing microbial contamination, and increasing nutritional capacity.

The technology is based on the design of a formulation of MBs containing a set of bacterial metabolites (Ecuador and Colombia) and natural compounds (Chile), for the prevention/protection and reduction of biofilm and/or rot formation that will improve the safety and quality of the fruit postharvest. The MBs will be applied in the postharvest phase under experimental conditions (in vitro) and subsequently, one MB per country will be tested in the storage areas of the producers (warehouses). With the development of this project, the first experimental trials will be carried out with the productive sector (fruit producers), which will allow eventual prototypes to be advanced to the next level of technological maturity at TRL6 ("Technology Readiness Level 6" or demonstration phase).

For this technological innovation there is a consortium of three institutions of higher education in Ecuador, Colombia and Chile that have the necessary infrastructure and equipment for the development of the project, plus an alliance with producing farms such as Terrafertil Ecuador S.A., Frutimar AG and S.A.T. Frutillas Chanco-Pelluhue in Chile, with the aim of obtaining food security for the consumer, introducing production chains that activate the economy, sustainable production and labor effectiveness in the producing farms. Consequently, the development of the bioproducts market in Ecuador and Colombia, whose economy has not yet transcended the primary-export paradigm, represents a notable economic and technological challenge.