Denver-based AgTech startup Onza Corp launches with an ambition to commercialize solid gases, starting with nature’s most powerful natural antimicrobial: ozone
DENVER, July 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Every year, 48 million Americans get sick from contaminated food. Globally, nearly 1 in 10 people fall ill from foodborne pathogens annually, and a staggering 420,000 will die. Meanwhile, U.S. families throw away hundreds of dollars in spoiled groceries, and the food system at large absorbs $218 billion in annual waste — costs that are passed on to consumers and businesses alike.
These are not new problems. But today, there is a new solution.
Introducing FreshSure™, the world’s first commercially available crystallized ozone sachet from AgTech startup Onza Corp. Currently in trials with major agricultural and food producers across three countries, this innovation makes ozone, one of nature’s most powerful organic antimicrobials, stable, scalable, and deployable across the entire food supply chain.
A Scientific Breakthrough, Decades in the Making.
Ozone’s ability to kill dangerous foodborne pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria has been well established for decades, as has its safety: ozone is FDA-approved, USDA-approved, and organic. The challenge has always been form factor: as a gas, ozone is unstable, difficult to store, and nearly impossible to scale due to its extremely short shelf life.
Through extensive R&D, Onza Corp has pioneered a new, patented technology that successfully converts gases like ozone into a safe and stable solid format that safeguards food from pathogens and preserves freshness. The result, FreshSure, is a crystallized sachet that can be used anywhere along the produce supply chain — from farm to refrigerator.
“We have spent years developing the technology to successfully convert useful gases like ozone into a solid, commercially friendly format,” said Onza Corp CEO Chuck Smith. “Today, with the launch of FreshSure, we are realizing an ambition to fundamentally change how the food supply chain operates. FreshSure trades bulky, expensive machinery for a sachet that costs less than $1 — bringing safer, fresher produce to suppliers and consumers everywhere.”
One FreshSure Sachet. Every Link in the Supply Chain.
FreshSure is a slow-release solid ozone sachet that harnesses ozone’s proven pathogen-killing power to neutralize microbial contamination and slow the ripening process — extending shelf life, protecting produce quality, and reducing the risk of foodborne illness at every point between harvest and table.
The implications ripple across the entire supply chain:
- For farmers and wholesalers: less spoilage in transit, lower loss rates, and greater confidence in product integrity on arrival.
- For grocers and retailers: reduced shrink, longer-lasting inventory, and a defensible answer to the food waste problem that costs the industry billions annually.
- For families: fresher food that lasts longer and goes further — a meaningful difference for households already stretched by rising grocery costs.
- For underserved communities globally: access to safer, fresher produce in markets where cold chain infrastructure is limited or nonexistent.
Colorado-Rooted, Globally Scaled.
Onza Corp is headquartered in Denver, a region with a proven track record of commercializing naturally available resources and scaling innovation. The company has already earned recognition from the Colorado Office of Economic Development, which awarded Onza Corp a grant in support of its pioneering technology.
“FreshSure isn’t just a supply chain optimization product for developed markets,” Smith said. “It’s a cost-effective, foundational technology with the potential to reshape food access and safety at a global scale. FreshSure is just the first of many industrialized gas products Onza Corp will develop and bring to market.”
FreshSure represents the beginning of what Onza Corp believes is possible with solid gas technology. Beyond food safety, there are potential applications across healthcare, water treatment, sanitation, and consumer products — verticals where the ability to stabilize and deploy gases in solid form could unlock solutions that have long been limited by the constraints of gas-based delivery.
For more information, visit onzacorp.com.
ABOUT ONZA CORP
Onza Corp is a Denver, Colorado-based AgTech company on a mission to improve our health, wellness, and planet with its patented gas-to-solid technology. Its flagship product, FreshSure™ — the world’s first commercially available, slow-release crystallized ozone product — harnesses ozone’s proven antimicrobial and anti-ripening properties to reduce food waste, extend produce freshness, and protect consumers and businesses from the risks of foodborne illness. Serving farmers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers across the food supply chain, Onza Corp is building a technology platform with the potential to transform food safety and food access on a global scale. For more information, visit onzacorp.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Brooke Sundermier
Trailblaze for Onza Corp
onzacorp@trailblaze.co
SOURCE Onza Corp