TED Tech Interview: The plant-based coating that is eliminating food spoilage | Jenny Du
Sep 26, 2025
Jenny Du, co-founder and Senior VP of Operations at Apeel Sciences, discusses her innovative work on plant-based coatings that combat food spoilage. She highlights the staggering impact of food waste on greenhouse gas emissions and explains how her coatings can significantly extend produce shelf life. Jenny also explores the benefits for consumers and retailers, including reduced waste and decreased reliance on plastics and refrigeration. Lastly, she emphasizes the importance of food security and access, particularly for underserved communities.
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Food Waste Is A Major Climate Source
- Roughly 40% of food produced globally is wasted and much of it ends up in landfills.
- That waste generates significant greenhouse gases, making food waste a top emitter globally.
Food Waste Equals A Major Emitter
- Food thrown away produces methane in landfills, amplifying emissions from the food system.
- Jenny Du frames food waste as equivalent to the third-largest emitting 'country' if it were one.
How A Naive Question Sparked Apeel
- Appeal's founders started by asking naive questions about why produce spoils and learned about moisture loss and oxidation.
- They connected plant cuticles to coatings because their coatings background made the biology and materials an obvious fit.