Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Chemistry-Metallurgy Dean of the Yıldız Technical University Chemistry-Metallurgy Faculty Food Prof. Dr. BioCoBloc, the antiviral edible coating fluid developed under the consultancy of Osman Sağdıç, fills an important gap in food safety, which is increasingly important due to the coronavirus epidemic. Because the fruits and vegetables coated with this liquid prevent the virus from reaching the consumer directly, it also allows the export of local fruits and vegetables with high added value.
 
Turkey with an annual average of 54 million tons of fresh fruit and vegetable production. 4 million tons of this export is exported, resulting in an income of approximately 2.26 billion dollars. A better understanding of the strategic importance of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry for healthy nutrition of people, especially due to the coronavirus epidemic, gives exporters hope for the future. However, at this point, it is very important to ensure food safety to combat Covid 19. In this direction, different measures and studies such as contactless export are carried out.
Yıldız Incubation Center The antiviral edible coating fluid that the food technology company Hyggefoods is working on fills an important gap in food safety. Because fruits and vegetables coated with this liquid aim to prevent the virus from reaching the consumer directly. In short, with this project, for the first time in the world, specially labeled fruit and vegetable products that are proven not to have coronavirus can be created. It is expected that the local fruits and vegetables grown in this way will also enable the export of high added value. Consumers will be able to access this product on the internet.
TARGET, CONSUMER FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
Food technology company Hyggefoods in 2018, established agricultural country with Turkey's power plant with high added value in order to manipulate the support of KOSGEB and TUBITAK company. Since the day it was founded, innovative products with herbal ingredients have been designed and produced in line with changing consumption habits with sustainable food production models. The company, which receives support from Yıldız TTO for the formation of ideas in its projects, finding funds, project writing-management and execution, bringing together stakeholders, managing the future intellectual and industrial rights, transforming these into economic contributions and commercializing them, has the food laboratory in the area allocated by Yıldız Teknopark. and carries out intensive R&D studies. Emine Yılmaz, the founder of Hyggefoods, who stated that herbal meat and dairy products are continuing rapidly and that the new generation caviar with herbal content is the first products, says that they have started to produce solutions that will ensure food safety against the problems that may occur in the food supply chain with the coronavirus. Saying that they are currently working for the edible anitviral corona barrier BioCoBloc, Yılmaz continues his speech as follows:
“With the project of developing antiviral edible food coating material to combat Covid-19, we aim to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the disease in the society and to develop effective protective products in preventing diseases. Because consumers allow the virus to spread with the fruits and vegetables they come into direct contact with. Vegetables and fruits covered with antiviral edible coating material developed in this project will be protected against viruses. It has no harm to health. Consumers will see small labels on fruits and vegetables covered with BioCoBloc. It will be a consumer-friendly product especially for fruits such as strawberries, cherries and grapes that are eaten without peeling and short-lived. "