One of the growing innovative technologies to improve smallholder farmers' food safety and security is hermetic storage. Hermetic storage can effectively control insect activity in stored grains, oilseeds, and pulses without using pesticides, thus preserving product quality. It works under the principle of a bio-generated modified atmosphere where oxygen (O2) concentration dramatically decreases. At the same time, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels proportionally increase in the stored product enclosed within an airtight gas barrier. Though the demand for hermetic storage bags continues to grow, more research is needed to address existing and emerging challenges to improve and expand the supply chain of this storage technology. My research objectives include the following:

1. Developing an international standard of measuring and rating hermetic storage bags.

2. Conducting full economic and environmental impact assessments of the bags.

3. Predicting the oxygen depletion in hermetic storage bag technology incorporating hermetic bag liners' engineering properties.

Tomato is a common vegetable consumed around the world in different forms including salad, stew, soup, puree drinks and sauce. In Ghana, it is consumed in all households almost every day. Spoiled tomatoes, due to the presence of pathogenic bacteria, are not safe for both human and livestock consumption. The present study sought to investigate the public conception of spoiled tomatoes in Ghana, factors influencing its consumption and the microbial safety of spoiled tomatoes randomly sampled from selected markets in Kumasi.