Maximizing Freshness: Prolonging Produce Shelf-Life with UV-C Irradiation and Vacuum Sealing

 By: Karen Hernandez 

Figure 9. The average increase in the shelf life of all experimental samples. The standard deviation of the three shelf-life measurement runs under the four storage conditions has been calculated and used to derive error bars. Figure taken from Damdam. et al. 2023. The image shows the change in shelf-life as the applied method changes. 

    It’s happened to everyone: you buy fresh produce, forget about it, it goes bad, and we end up throwing it away. Not only is our money wasted, but so is food, which is a great contributor to environmental pollution. Bacteria greatly contribute to fruit spoilage; in this study, scientists found a way to reduce food waste by combining two technologies: vacuum sealing and UV-C irradiation.  
    While vacuum sealing slows spoilage by removing air, UV-C irradiation uses ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and mold (responsible for spoilage) by damaging their DNA or RNA without any chemicals. When used together, the results are impressive. The study used strawberries and tomatoes as model organisms to study the spoilage rates based on the type of method used. They used vacuum sealing alone, UV-C irradiation alone, UV-C irradiation, and vacuum sealing, along with a control. The strawberries and tomatoes treated with both UV-C irradiation and vacuum sealing lasted 124.41% and 54.41% longer than usual, respectively. 
This technology aims to keep food fresher for longer and reduce waste, benefiting both consumers and retailers. Since agriculture significantly contributes to environmental pollution, reducing food waste could lower pollution levels, save money, and improve economic efficiency.  
By extending produce shelf life, we’re not just preserving food; we're saving money, reducing environmental impact, and investing in a more sustainable future. 

Damdam, A; Al-Zahrani, A; Salah, L; Salama, KN. 2023. Effect of combining UV-C irradiation and vacuum sealing on the shelf life of fresh strawberries and tomatoes. J. Food Sci. 88(2):595-607.