This food tech startup wants to keep the world’s bananas and avocados fresher longer By Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune Published: April 18, 2021, 10:30am Share: Post harvest scientist Fang Tham measures the force needed to puncture a chayote with a penetrometer at Hazel Technologies in Chicago on November 15, 2019. This measurement helps determine the quality of the fruit. (Camille Fine/Chicago Tribune/TNS) Hazel Technologies, a Chicago-based startup that created a small drop-in packet to keep bananas and other produce from turning prematurely brown, is starting to produce a lot of green. The 6-year-old company announced Tuesday it raised $70 million in a completed investment round, financing ambitions to grow Hazel into an international food tech powerhouse.