CHICAGO, IL - Often when backing something, we are told to put our money where our mouth is. Business-wise, it's the ultimate show of faith, and the USDA is strongly standing behind Hazel Technologies Inc.

The company announced that it has received an additional $100,000 grant from the USDA as part of the USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program recognizing the new Hazel™ Endure technology.

"Having USDA-funding for Hazel™ Endure, our next major product line, provides unique third party validation,” said CEO Aidan Mouat. “This new grant will help us scale production and continue to develop Hazel Endure as the top post-harvest quality solution for the berry supply chain, which loses over $600M per year due to spoilage in the U.S. alone.”

Endure is the latest in a portfolio of solutions seeking to battle shrink by extending shelf-life, effectively increasing sales and combatting food waste in the process.

According to a press release, Endure is a packaging insert with an anti-microbial technology that has been proven to extend the shelf-life of both conventional and organic produce, most notably berries, as Mouat pointed out.

The company specified that it uses only natural, plant-derived compounds, releasing a proprietary blend of antimicrobial vapor at a slow measured rate.

The result is the mitigation of fungi like botrytis and anthracnose of up to 40 percent in the supply chain.

Earning the grant is a highly competitive process, necessitating applicants pass both a technical review from the USDA and secure endorsements from the produce industry following trials of the technology.

While the USDA only grants SBIR aid to 12 percent of companies that apply annually, this is the third SBIR grant awarded to Hazel Technologies in the past three years, totalling nearly one million dollars in funding.

The Hazel Endure technology is currently available on a limited scale to growers, packers, and retailers in select markets including the U.S.

Hazel Technologies