Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and demand is high. Produce is grown, traded and transported on a global scale and consumers demand availability of a wide range of fresh products throughout the year. The impacts of this demand, particularly in developing countries, on land usage, water, growing methods, harvesting, processing, packaging and transport are enormous. Around half (1.3 billion tonnes) of fruit and vegetables produced globally for human consumption is spoiled or wasted representing a significant loss of the resources spent producing, processing and transporting that food and a threat to food security (FAO, 2011). Our innovative disinfectant is effective against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and its use in the post-harvest/processing areas of the food supply chain can reduce cross-contamination / wastage and extend shelf life. Our existing water recycling / produce decontamination installations in East Africa have reduced water and electricity usage (by 80 and 90% respectively), reduced chemical usage (and the need for plastic drums to store it) and improved throughput efficiency (by turning a batch process into a continuous flow process). Our disinfectant is much less harsh than traditional produce decontamination chemicals which is a big positive for workers in the packhouse environment. South America produced 115 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables in 2019 (FAO, 2021). ASL would like to explore the South American fresh produce sector and target suitable businesses with the aim of setting up mutually beneficial collaborative research projects and on-going commercial relationships. The project aims are to research the South American fresh produce market and production challenges, identify a range of companies in 3-4 South American countries, prepare marketing materials and arrange web based meetings to disseminate our technology and discuss potential benefits. The final stage of this project would be to visit interested companies in order to see their facilities, plan collaborative field trials and ultimately implement commercial systems capable of reducing food waste, improving resource utilisation, decreasing chemical usage, improving efficiency, increasing productivity and reducing the risk of pathogenic organisms/disinfection by-products entering the food chain.

Many community and health-care associated infections are preventable through good hand hygiene i.e. cleaning hands at the right times and in the right way with the most suitable method. Indeed enhanced hand hygiene has been a key part of the government strategy to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. The optimum method of maintaining good hand hygiene is through use of soap and hot running water. However, this is not always possible, practical or convenient. This has led to a surge in the use of alcohol based hand rubs (ABHRs). ABHRs are not produced using standard ingredients nor do they have a standard / declared strength, despite a minimum 65% concentration being required for them to be effective. In addition these products rarely have usage instructions on the label, despite the fact that BSEN 1500 states that 6 ml (2 washes with 3ml each time) is the necessary dose. Different alcohols have a varying spectrum of target organisms and not all alcohols are effective against all pathogens. ABHRs can cause drying / cracking of hands and can sting if applied to broken skin. In addition they are flammable and can cause harm if ingested. They are not safe to use in all environments (eg primary schools, dementia care settings) and are not acceptable to people of certain faiths. This project focusses on creating a convenient and efficacious hand rub based on hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is produced by the mammalian body in response to pathogen attack. It is a fast acting and safe biocide which is effective against a wide range of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, yeasts, moulds, protozoa, spores). It is already used in the healthcare sector in liquid form (hard surface disinfection and hand sanitation) however professional users and consumers alike are used to gels and are hesitant to use non-gel formulations. This project will identify a suitable gel base to formulate a hand rub containing hypochlorous acid whilst maintaining the superior efficacy of the hypochlorous acid compared to alcohol as a biocide. It will look at optimal dose rate and rub time. The end result will be a safe, broad-spectrum efficacious hand rub that possesses all the convenience attributes of an ABHR without the disadvantages. The labelling would be designed to make it clear how much should be used to comply with the requirements of BSEN 1500 and the packaging would have a simple use mechanism to dispense that volume.