Public Funding for Spraying Systems Limited

Food losses and wastage is a primary worldwide problem. 690 million or 8.9% of people are hungry(Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN). Food Waste Management Market will be $116.4 Bn(2032). Developed economies witness food losses at the downstream stages of the supply chain. Post-COVID economic inflation leads to significant food price increases across the UK(25.7% imported;18% domestic). This lead to survival threats especially to lower incomes/under-representatives. Meat is the most laborious food to produce and the most toxic with 1/3 of emissions produced can be attributed to waste meat with 3/4 of the land used for food waste being used to dispose of meat, even though it accounts for 13% of total food waste. According to The Grocer, supermarkets throw away 100,000-tons of edible food annually in the UK which could feed upwards of 30-million people. As a result, supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce food waste. There is a distinction between case-life and shelf-life of meat. Case-life (also called colour shelf-life or display-life) is described as the length of time meat can be displayed under refrigeration before a colour change occurs. This colour change from the bright, cherry-red colour of beef to another colour, such as brown, is caused by a change in the protein myoglobin(Brooks,2007). Myoglobin is the colour pigment in muscle and is responsible for binding oxygen. While this colour change is not harmful and does not denote spoilage, it results in a colour customers find undesirable. Fresh meat contains up to 75% of water, which combines with water-soluble protein(e.g.myoglobin) to form "purge". Display meat is easily dehydrated and correspondingly loses protein through purge. Hence, an effective way to sustainably extend display fresh meat shelf life is urgently needed. The most convenient way to extend fresh food shelf life is to use wrapping, such as air-permeable overwrap with clear transparent film. An air-permeable package typically consists of a foam tray and absorbent pad that rests under the meat cut. The tray is wrapped in a clear film that is permeable to moisture and oxygen. The film characteristics allow oxygen from the air to come in contact with the beef, changing the colour from purple to bright cherry-red. Such individual packaging wrap is both cost and labour-intensive are usually found in high-end supermarkets. Algreen aims to extend display fresh meat shelf-life with protein preservation by phasing out the conventional plastic packaging in the most economical scalable way.

In civil and mechanical engineering, the design process is done almost entirely by computer. Similarly, a long-held goal in formulated product (FP) design is to shift from an ad-hoc labour-intensive process towards a more robust and adaptive computer aided formulation (CAF) paradigm. Significant progress has been made over the last two decades in utilizing computational methods to aid in the development of formulated products and materials characterisation and discovery. The foundation industries in the UK have continued in the face of competition due to their ability to innovate, and add value to the products manufactured in the UK, frequently achieved through the application of a functional coating to address a specific market need. The ability to turn innovations from concept to coating faster, is what will let the foundation industries compete better. The ability to optimize the product and process for cost, quality, energy and material efficiency, without taking more development time is a key enabler for future growth. This project will take a whole supply chain view on the readiness of digital technologies to augment and enhance the traditional formulation process, and the ability to capture the knowledge of the experts in the process in terms of manufacture of constituents, application process, through a the digital-first process. This consortium, including metals, glass and bulk and speciality chemicals supply chain will seek to demonstrate a digital led approach to preparing a formulation for spray deposition on two different kinds of substrate systems, one for the glass sector, and one for steel. While we will focus on antimicrobial coatings, our approach will derisk similar approaches with many different products, different substrates, different application mechanisms, bringing together national centres of expertise with industry partners. Overall this will enable us to produce high value products at lower cost and with lower energy consumption.