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 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.
Target Moisture And Oxidation First
- Apeel targets moisture loss and oxidation first because they are tractable drivers of spoilage.
- The team used knowledge from coatings and plant cuticle chemistry to design plant-based protective layers.