Antiseptic-Wax (813258)

  https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/813258

  Horizon 2020 (2014-2020)

  Bioinspired superhydrophbic wax surfaces to eliminate biofilm formation in the food industry

  ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2018-PoC)

  food technology

  2018-08-01 Start Date (YY-MM-DD)

  2020-01-31 End Date (YY-MM-DD)

  € 150,000 Total Cost

  Description

Microbial food spoilage leads to food-borne illnesses and food wastage. It is estimated that food borne disease cause 23 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths only in the European region and around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually. Contamination of food by biofilms can occur at any stage of the food production process or consumption. In this PoC we propose to address this problem taking inspiration from nature. We have shown that we can emulate various plant leaf surfaces by synthetic paraffin waxes which exhibit superhydrophobic and pronounced passive anti-microbial properties. These waxes are FDA approved for the use in food products. We plan to develop easy to apply waxed surfaces via spray and dip coating techniques, which can be easily implemented into the food industry at various stages of production. We believe this will allow to significantly reduce food spoilage and waste.

  Complicit Organisations

1 Israeli organisation participates in Antiseptic-Wax.