Pomona Hort Innovation signs global license with Know Hub Chile for technology that controls superficial scald in export pears and apples

The licensed technology, which controls superficial scald in apples and pears, offers a unique, 100% natural solution to extend the shelf life of fruit and reduce losses throughout the value chain. Born at the Universidad de Talca, it is a successful case of technology transfer that contributes to the national and international fresh fruit industry.

Good-looking fruit is fruit the end buyer will take home. However, when products are marketed internationally, they are exposed to risks that affect their appearance and can lead to them being discarded despite their good quality and flavor.

After a prolonged period of storage at low temperatures, apples and pears frequently develop a physiological disorder known as superficial scald: irregular brown spots that appear only on the surface. Since it is a type of chilling injury, the symptoms show up when the fruit is at room temperature, during its shelf life. And although the effect is not caused by pathogens or mechanical damage and does not affect the flesh of the fruit, affected fruit is usually discarded, so the economic losses can be considerable.

Considering that apples alone are Chile’s third most exported fruit, with shipments of 602,478 tons in 2022, worth USD 518.4 million according to the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (Odepa), finding an effective solution has been an ongoing task for the industry.

A natural alternative

A research team from the Universidad de Talca, led by agronomist Carolina Torres, Ph.D., currently a faculty member at Washington State University in the U.S., developed a 100% natural anti-scald alternative that will replace the synthetic anti-scald agents currently used by the industry worldwide. This patented formula, highly effective at preventing superficial scald during prolonged fruit storage, contains plant-derived squalane and has been validated at semi-industrial scale in Chile and the United States on both pears and apples.

The technology is applied after harvest and before the cold storage that pears and apples undergo worldwide, explained Dr. Torres, “preventing a very devastating physiological disorder in these fruits called superficial scald, which appears as a blackening of the skin, causing cosmetic damage that makes the fruit unmarketable.” This breakthrough is part of the Know Hub Chile technology portfolio and was recently licensed to a U.S.-based startup, Pomona Hort Innovation, to help it expand into the international market.

Developed by the Universidad de Talca, a Know Hub Chile partner institution, the technology meets an unmet demand for natural products to replace traditional synthetic chemicals with a very high environmental cost, notes Ricardo Díaz, CEO of Pomona Hort Innovation: “This product is 100% natural, and its active ingredient is “upcycled” from the olive oil production process, making it a modern, environmentally friendly alternative for controlling superficial scald in pears and apples.”

The startup, which took its name from Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and orchards, has the mission of helping bring academia and the fruit industry together. “Our goal is to facilitate collaboration, knowledge transfer and innovation across these three domains. We bring together world-class researchers, knowledge transfer institutions and industry leaders to leverage academic expertise and cutting-edge research and generate practical applications for the benefit of the fruit industry,” says Díaz.

The need to help technologies created by research institutions reach the market is growing, says the CEO of Pomona Hort Innovation. “New technologies are generally created by universities, and in most cases they are too immature to attract the interest of large companies,” he explains, adding that many academics lack an entrepreneurial drive because they are “very busy with their teaching duties, and many of these inventions remain in limbo between the results of a research project and what it takes to become a product mature and attractive enough to reach the market.”

That is why, to commercialize this technology, Know Hub Chile managed the licensing. Thanks to it, explains Óscar Astudillo, innovation coordinator at Know Hub Chile, Pomona Hort Innovation will be able to commercialize and produce the technology in the United States and in other countries where it is needed.

A solution for agribusiness

The commercialization prospects are promising, says Astudillo, since the technology, which is covered by several patents, has already been tested and evaluated in relevant environments such as Chile and the United States, with positive results in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness against superficial scald.

“It is one of the few products of natural origin that will provide a solution to the industry, which could soon face commercial problems with fruit treated with the chemicals in use today, which are highly questioned and whose registration for use in export markets is in jeopardy. This technological alternative therefore arrives at a time in pear and apple production and post-harvest when it is in high demand. It is a great opportunity to bring the product to market over the next two years,” says the Know Hub Chile innovation coordinator.

For his part, the CEO of Pomona Hort Innovation stresses that it is important for them “to be Know Hub’s strategic ally in the United States for science- and technology-based ventures, which is key, since it is one of the most important markets for agro-industrial technologies and will give direct access to the technologies being developed in Chile.”