Fruits will not rot

2001/08/29 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biokimika

You've got tired of making the purchase on Monday for the whole week and eating rotten figs on Friday. Boring to open the refrigerator door and find tomatoes in the form of sick. Well, calm. The Japanese company Plusto wanted to improve its quality of life and for this purpose has invented a foam that prevents the rotting of fruits and vegetables.

As is known, fruits and vegetables when ripe, produce ethylene. Ethylene is a sweet flavor gas that regulates the process of growing fruits and vegetables. But with the oxygen of the air, the fruits are oxidized and roasted.

To avoid oxidation, the researchers of the company Plusto have prepared a kind of foam with several enzymes extracted from the bamboo plant. These enzymes absorb and destroy ethylene, thus avoiding the rotting of fruits and vegetables. The foam will be sold in bags and placed in the center of the refrigerator. According to the forecasts of the managers of the company, in the next five years they will sell a million bags of foam. How much will yours be?