An expanded Web version of segments seen on CNN

Additional audio clips Streaming video Expanded related sites Preview of next week's segment

A NASA experiment may help ensure longer-lasting vegetables and flowers

From Correspondent Rick Lockridge

MADISON, Wisconsin (CNN) -- A NASA experiment to perfect the growing of plants in space may soon add shelf life to the produce at your local market.

Researchers say they have developed a method to keep vegetables crisper, fruit fresher and flowers more vibrant.

The key, they say, is to contain ethylene gas, which is given off by ripening produce. The plant harmone is necessary for ripening, but too much of it can spoil an entire produce area.

The gas accounts for up to 10 percent of produce losses and 5 percent of flower losses -- costs which are currently passed on to consumers.

But through work with the space program, a research team has developed a new method of removing the gas and extending the shelf life of produce.

Marc Anderson, a University of Wisconsin chemist, led the team that made the discovery.

Glass pellets are used in the ethylene-removal process

"You've probably brought a tomato home and it looked pretty good the day that you brought it home," Anderson explained. "But the next day it's got this little spot and you open it up and it's not very good, and that's typical of ethylene damage." ( 168 K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Rocket science

Anderson and his team were working with NASA to find ways to perfect crop growth for long-term space travel.

Through experiments on several shuttle missions and aboard the Russian space station Mir, Anderson discovered that titanium dioxide, a common chemical used in paint, converts ethylene to carbon dioxide and water. The process is triggered by ultraviolet light.

To help make his discovery work on Earth, Anderson partnered with Kes Irrigation Systems, a Georgia-based company selling another ethylene removal process.

RELATED VIDEO
Preventing the spread of bacteria
Real	28K	56K
Windows Media	28K	56K
A method that allows produce to stay fresh longer was developed in space
Real	28K	56K
Windows Media	28K	56K

Kes was using potassium permanganate, a purplish powder.

Now, the company uses glass pellets that have been coated with titanium dioxide. Unless the pellets are damaged, they never need to be replaced.

A unit containing the pellets is placed in a storage area. A fan draws in the ethylene-rich air, circulates it over the treated glass pellets, then pushes the cleansed air back out into the storage area.

Kes currently makes a unit that will cleanse air in up to 36,000 cubic square feet. Others are in the works now.

The technology could add one to four weeks in shelf life to fruits, vegetables and flowers, which could result in more fresh produce in the market all the time. It could also bring costs down for suppliers and consumers.

"I couldn't even begin to give you the billions of tons of food that can be given, or handed to the end user, in a usable state, rather than something that the grocery stores or the commercial enterprises have to throw out," Kes' John Hayman, Jr. said. ( 196 K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)