It took Salvatore Giglia and Sharon Jorgensen more than five years to bring the eggshell-inspired Ovtene to American consumers, but the product that promises to preserve foods’ freshness longer is now ready to wrap.

Giglia and Jorgensen, a husband and wife duo who live in Marion, have worked with their Italian business partner Alberto Tomasini to establish Ovtene in the U.S.

The product, which many of Giglia and Jorgensen’s neighbors have already tested and approved, can keep food from molding, discoloring and otherwise deteriorating – sometimes doubling and tripling the life of fruits, vegetables, breads and cheeses.

Through Jorgensen’s at-home experiments with the product, she found time after time that foods retained their fresh taste and appearance, often for weeks longer than those left on the counter or in traditional packaging. For example, Jorgensen said fresh, local strawberries lasted two weeks wrapped in Ovtene. Scientific testing on dozens of foods also backed up Ovtene’s claims, said Giglia.

Made of calcium carbonate – found in eggshells, rocks, pearls, among others places – along with a proprietary blend of minerals bound together with plastic – is the secret behind Ovtene. The thin wraps create a “microclimate” that blocks the bacteria that makes food spoil, according to Giglia.

The brand name is a somewhat literal amalgamation of the wrap’s material and purpose: “Ov” means egg in Italian and “tene” means to preserve.

The Italian product was created as a way to keep cheese fresher longer, but its range of uses has made it a favorite for grocers. Giglia said the wraps are now used in 80 percent of Italian grocery stores.

Bringing it to the United States, however, was more of a challenge than Giglia and Jorgensen imagined. As long-time antique dealers, delving into the food arena came with a learning curve, from scientific studies on the efficacy of Ovtene to achieving FDA compliance.

Giglia credits business incubator Inner City Capital Connections with “tweaking” Ovtene’s business model and refining their plan through an intensive graduate-level program.

The process has yielded positive results for the company. The wraps are now being used to keep gourmet cheese fresh in 42 Whole Foods stores in the Northeast and in 67 small cheese shops across the United States. It can also be found at the upscale Dean & DeLuca shops.

Ovtene sheets and bags will be available for consumers online soon as well, though Jorgensen knows it will take a bit of education to get people used to life without the creature comforts of cling wrap and zip-top bags. The wrap and bag versions of the product don’t have closures, but Jorgensen said they aren’t necessary.

Friends, neighbors and even local farmers agree. Many have been won over by the product, with one person calling Jorensen the “lady with the magic paper.”

“Once people use it, they understand it. They won’t go back,” Jorgensen said. “Why would you go back to plastic bags and plastic wrap?”

Ovtene sheets use 60 to 70 percent less plastic than traditional wrap and are recyclable. Plus Giglia said the product doesn’t leach into food.

The wraps also provide a solution to the issue of food waste both at home and on a larger scale. According to Giglia, 40 percent of food in the U.S. never makes it to the market. He hopes one day Ovtene can reduce that percentage.

“That’s where we’re going to make a difference,” Giglia said.

That part of the plan is still down the line, as is a stateside manufacturing plant.

For now, the couple is networking and connecting with food producers and retailers to get Ovtene’s name out there – even as they continue to learn about new applications for the product.

“We’re constantly learning. It’s like exploring the universe for us,” Giglia said.