Type. SNSF project

Funding. the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Duration. 1.5 years (2021-2022).

Collaborations. -

Contact. Thijs Defraeye (principal investigator).

Staff. Kanaha Shoji, Jörg Schemminger.

Project background.

Up to one-third of Switzerland's fresh fruit and vegetables are lost on the way from farm to fork. Reducing this postharvest loss at the retailer and consumer level is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from supply chains and avoiding natural resource waste. The current key strategy to preserve fresh produce and extend its shelf life is to cool it down after harvest and keep it cool during transport and storage until consumed. However, the consumers, retailer workers, and restaurant staff often have very little information about their fruit and vegetables during storage. What is the best temperature to preserve them? How soon will they shrivel because of moisture loss? Can they get too cold so fruit is damaged? We aim to answer these questions by utilizing our physics-based digital twins of fruits, the virtual representation of fruits, and turning them into an easy-to-use mobile application.

Click here for more info on the app, MyFruitTwin

The image of the sensor kit is from SENSIRION.

Publications. -

Outreach. 
See Events page under MyFruitTwin page