IIT Hyderabad, WayCool Foods sign agreement to develop antimicrobial food packaging

CHENNAI: Agri-supply chain startup WayCool Foods has signed a three year MoU with Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, to develop antimicrobial food packaging material by using biopolymers, the company said on Wednesday.

The objective was to develop an economically viable and biodegradable packaging that would retain the freshness of fruits and vegetable longs, leading to a reduction in food wastage across the supply chain by 20 per cent, the city-based company said in a statement.

WayCool Foods would invest close to Rs two million over a period of three years of this association, it said. "The association with IIT Hyderabad to co-develop a sustainable alternate packaging solution further supplements our in-house research and development and innovation efforts", company executive vice president Vignesh Kumar Manogaran said.

The collaboration would help the company work closely with the bright minds of India's premier institutions and strengthen industry-academia partnership, he added.

WayCool distributes its wide range of fresh produce and staples to nearly 20,000 retail outlets, as well as institutional clients. "Biopolymer is an environmentally friendly food packaging material. We are happy to collaborate with WayCool Foods to develop this unique solution to enhance product shelf-life and also reducing the overall carbon footprint related to food packaging", IIT Hyderabad, The Cellulose Group (Head), Mudrika Khandelwal, said. T

The packaging material would enhance the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, the statement said.

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