AMES, Iowa – An Ames-based company is peddling a mobile food dehydrator in an effort to stop food waste around the globe.

The KinoSol is a mobile food dehydration unit that is solar powered for farmers right in the field, Cedar Rapids television station KGAN reported (http://bit.ly/1qRU2Cs ). The name KinoSol is a combination of ‘kinetic’ and ‘sol’ for sun.

“One third of all food that is produced goes to waste,” KinoSol co-founder Clayton Mooney said.

With the KinoSol, Mooney said, people in developing countries are able to preserve the food they raise and feed their families.

The idea started in 2014 at a global competition. About 19 months later, the company has landed on a model they believe will be efficient for farmers to use. It takes about six to eight hours for produce to fully dehydrate in the machine, Mooney said. The unit can also dehydrate grains and insects, he said.

KinoSol now has partners in Brazil, Indonesia, El Salvador, Uganda, Nepal, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Co-founder Elise Kendall said she learned during a trip to Uganda how much food goes to waste during harvest because of a lack of ways to preserve and store it. She took one of the company’s early prototypes with her.

The reaction to the dehydrator’s results was priceless, Kendall said.

“They did this huge dance, and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life,” she said.

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Information from: KGAN-TV, http://www.kgan.com