710476A novel ozonated soft mist applicator to improve the shelf life of cut ornamentals through bacterial and ethylene reductionClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKIn the UK, we consume around £2billion of cut flowers each year; these often have to travel by complex routes to get to the retailer, be it a florist, mail order house or supermarket. During their travels, the still-living flowers experience bacterial and fungal infective loads, ethylene gas is given off which causes them to age prematurely, and their cool chain is sometimes not capable of preventing losses and devaluation occurs as a result. Flowers rejected as waste, plus those that have lost some of their “vase life”, can cost the suppliers and customers up to £100million per year. We have identified an opportunity to introduce a hygienic treatment using ozone, which can kill microbes and also destroy the ethylene that causes senescence. We believe we can develop a hand-held mobile sanitization unit that can directly disinfect the flowers, and can be used at various points along the supply chain to maintain hygiene and vase life. Our project is to prove the feasibility of this concept, and to calibrate the dosage that would be required for different flower varieties and different handling regimes.