May/June 2023 - 24

FOOD SAFETY
Ionized gas used
for food safety
BY CHRIS KOGER
MANAGING EDITOR
S
tart-up company NanoGuard Technologies is
in the early phases of designing a technology
that uses air and electricity to kill molds and
pathogens on fruits, vegetables and other food, with a
goal of replacing chemical sanitizers throughout the
food chain.
NanoGuard Technologies uses High Voltage
Atmospheric Cold Plasma (HVACP) to reduce
postharvest microbial activity by more than 99%, and
cut toxins in half. The process basically pasteurizes
raw food without heat in a process NanoGuard calls
airilization, which doesn't affect quality, taste or
texture.
The company's guiding principle is " If it isn't safe,
it isn't food, " an adage borrowed from the United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, said Larry
Clarke, NanoGuard's CEO.
" Basically, we are moving gasses, air, through a
plasma field, creating ionized particles, " Clarke said.
" These ionized particles are then blown across the
product that needs to be decontaminated. "
The process kills mold, fungi, viruses and
mycotoxins, which are toxic compounds produced by
some fungi that threaten human, pet and livestock
food. NanoGuard has tested the process on fruits and
vegetables, including fresh
potatoes in storage to reduce
rot, and cut potatoes to be
sold fresh, but the company is
currently focusing on the grain
and flour industry.
Cargill conducted more than
LARRY CLARKE
300,000 tests on animal feed
in 2022, according to its World
Mycotoxin Report. Of those,
72% were contaminated by
mycotoxins, half of which were
above Cargill's " performance
risk threshold, " meaning they
reduced the effectiveness of the animal feed.
Clarke, a retired Bunge executive, joined NanoGuard
after Bunge became a major investor in the company.
Startup investors value joint development
agreements between the startups and business
partners, and Clarke said NanoGuard has had more
than 20 such relationships.
" Finding people who want this to work is easy, " he
24 | MAY/JUNE 2023
NanoGuard Technologies' newest laboratory prototype
generates plasma between three pairs of electrodes.
Photos: NanoGuard Technologies
said. " The work we're doing right now is not as focused
on the fruit and vegetable world, but we have done
work there and we see the capabilities. "
That includes treating tomato seeds, and an interest
in indoor vertical farms.
HVACP in the supply chain
Clarke described airilzation as an " and " technology,
not an " or " technology, meaning it's not limited in use
to a specific part of the supply chain, such as during
packing, or at the distribution center or even at the
retail level. He said he believes the supply chain is
" fractured, " with stakeholders focused on just their
part of the chain.
" As a warehouseman, I am going to protect my
warehouse profitability and effectiveness and
efficiency, and as a shipper, I would protect mine, "
he said. " But as you move all across the supply chain,
there are just a very few companies - Driscolls
would be one of them - that sees the whole supply
chain and measures the impact of things like food
safety across the supply chain. "
May/June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2023
