N2OFF (NITO) Risk Factors

Our prospective customers generally test and evaluate our solutions before applying them to their commercial product lines or integrating them into their facilities. This testing period takes at least two seasons and could be longer or subject to delays. Even after our solutions are approved by the customers, due to seasonal effects, it could take several months before they begin purchasing our solutions, if at all. Nothing guarantees that following such pilots, the targeted packing house will choose to use our solutions on its products or continue the process further and complete the sale cycle. The combination of the longer sales cycle and the unique nature of our solutions that could have different results following seasonal changes could have an impact on our profitability and business. As a result, we could have limited revenues, or no revenues, from prospective customers, even after we have invested significant amounts of time in the pilot phase and sales of our solutions, which in turn could adversely affect our business and financial results.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on obtaining and maintaining patent and other intellectual property protection for the proprietary blend used in our products and our manufacturing process, as well as continuing to develop and secure trade secrets. We might in the future opt to license intellectual property from other parties. If we, or the other parties from whom we may license intellectual property, fail to obtain and maintain adequate patent or other intellectual property protection for intellectual property used in our products, or if any protection is reduced or eliminated, others could use the intellectual property used in our products, resulting in harm to our competitive business position. In addition, patent and other intellectual property protection may not provide us with a competitive advantage against competitors that devise ways of making competitive products without infringing any patents that we own or to which we have rights. U.S. patents and patent applications may be subject to interference proceedings, and U.S. patents may be subject to re-examination proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Foreign patents may be subject to opposition or comparable proceedings in the corresponding foreign patent offices. Any of these proceedings could result in loss of the patent or denial of the patent application, or loss or reduction in the scope of one or more of the claims of the patent or patent application. Changes in either patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws may also diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our protection. Interference, re-examination and opposition proceedings may be costly and time consuming, and we, or the other parties from whom we might potentially license intellectual property, may be unsuccessful in defending against such proceedings. Thus, any patents that we own or might license may provide limited or no protection against competitors. In addition, our pending patent applications and those we may file in the future may have claims narrowed during prosecution or may not result in patents being issued. Even if any of our pending or future applications are issued, they may not provide us with adequate protection or any competitive advantages. Our ability to develop additional patentable technology is also uncertain. Non-payment or delay in payment of patent fees or annuities, whether intentional or unintentional, may also result in the loss of patents or patent rights important to our business. Many countries, including certain countries in Europe, have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to other parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against other parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of the patent. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.

Some of our products are subject to technical review and approval by government authorities in each country where we currently conduct our business and where we intend to sell our products. The regulatory requirements to which we are subject are complex and vary from country to country. To obtain new registrations, it is necessary to have a local registrant, and to understand the country's regulatory requirements, both at the time an application for registration is submitted and when the registration decision is made, which may be several years later. A significant investment in registration data is required (covering all aspects from manufacturing specifications through storage and transport, use, and disposal of unwanted product and used containers) to ensure that product performance (e.g., efficacy), intrinsic hazards and use patterns are fully characterized. Risk assessments are conducted by government regulatory authorities who make the final decision on whether the documented risk associated with a product and active ingredient is acceptable prior to granting approval for sale. This process may be prolonged due to requirements for additional data or internal administrative processes. There is a risk that registration of a new product may not be obtained or that a product label may be severely reduced, restricting the use of the product. If these circumstances arise, there is a risk that the substantial investments made in product development will generate the projected sales that justified the investment, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by failure to obtain new registrations. Products that are already approved may be subject to periodic review by regulatory authorities in many countries. Such reviews frequently require the provision of new data and more complex risk assessments. The outcome of such reviews of existing registrations cannot be guaranteed and registrations may be modified or canceled. Since all government regulatory authorities have the right to review existing registrations at any time, the sustainability of the existing portfolio cannot be guaranteed. Existing registrations may be lost at any time, resulting in an immediate impact on sales. Furthermore, prior to expiration, it is necessary to renew registrations. The renewal period and processes vary by country and may require additional studies to support the renewal process. Failure to comply could result in cancellation of the registration, resulting in an impact on sales. In addition, new laws and regulations may be introduced, or existing laws and regulations may be changed or may become subject to new interpretations, which could result in additional compliance costs, seizures, confiscations, recalls, monetary fines or delays that could affect us or our customers.

Public companies are facing increasing scrutiny related to ESG practices and disclosures from certain investors, capital providers, shareholder advocacy groups, other market participants, and other stakeholder groups. For example, certain institutional and individual investors have requested various ESG-related information and disclosures as they increasingly incorporate ESG criteria in making investment and voting decisions. With this increased focus, public reporting regarding ESG practices is becoming more broadly expected. Such increased scrutiny may result in increased costs, enhanced compliance or disclosure obligations, or other adverse impacts on our business, financial condition or results of operations. If our ESG practices and reporting do not meet investor or other stakeholder expectations, which continue to evolve, we may be subject to investor or regulator engagement regarding such matters. In addition, new sustainability rules and regulations have been adopted and may continue to be introduced in various states and other jurisdictions. Such climate change-related regulations or interpretations of existing laws may result in enhanced disclosure obligations that could negatively affect us and materially increase our regulatory burden. Increased regulations generally increase the costs to us, and those higher costs may continue to increase if new laws require additional resources, including spending more time, hiring additional personnel or investing in new technologies. Moreover, this could result in increased management time and attention to ensure we are compliant with the regulations and expectations. Our failure to comply with any applicable rules or regulations could lead to penalties and adversely impact our reputation, access to capital and employee retention. Such ESG matters may also impact third parties on which we rely, which may augment or cause additional impacts on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Our future success is dependent upon the acceptance of our environmentally friendly, non-toxic residual solutions for fruits and vegetables. While the market is signaling that such a direction is likely, certain trends as well as the future size of this market, and other potential markets for our products, rely upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. For example, both the failure to convince retailers to bear additional costs for "green" fruit and vegetables as well as the failure to persuade consumers to purchase "green" fruits and vegetables for higher prices may adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow going forward.

As a result of the international nature of our business, we are exposed to risks associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates. A majority of our revenues and substantially all of our cost of sales are in U.S. dollars and our management, marketing, sales and research and development costs are in New Israeli Shekels. We are therefore exposed to foreign currency risk due to fluctuations in exchange rates. This may result in gains or losses with respect to movements in exchange rates, which may be significant and may also cause fluctuations in reported financial information that are not necessarily related to our operating results.

We have non-competition agreements with all of our employees, all of which are governed by Israeli law. These agreements prohibit our employees from competing with or working for our competitors, generally during their employment and for up to 12 months after termination of their employment. However, Israeli courts are reluctant to enforce non-compete undertakings of former employees and tend, if at all, to enforce those provisions for relatively brief periods of time in restricted geographical areas, and only when the employee has obtained unique value to the employer specific to that employer's business and not just regarding the professional development of the employee. If we are not able to enforce non-compete covenants, we may be faced with added competition.

We rely on unaffiliated contract manufacturers to produce certain key components of our products. In Israel, we work exclusively with a well-known producer of chemicals, Zohar Dalia, who is responsible for the production of our products. Zohar Dalia is well known for its knowledge and handling of hydrogen peroxide. In the United States, we have worked for the past few years with Seeler Industries, a national leader in the marketing and handling of hydrogen peroxide. We additionally work with a producer in South Africa. There is limited available manufacturing capacity that meets our quality standards and regulatory requirements, especially for the manufacturing of the SF3H and SF3HS with one of their active ingredients - hydrogen peroxide - as well as for FreshPROTECT with one of its active ingredients - PO3. If we are unable to arrange for sufficient production capacity among our contract manufacturers or if our contract manufacturers encounter production, quality, financial, or other difficulties, including labor or geopolitical disturbances, we may encounter difficulty in meeting customer demands as we seek alternative sources of supply, or we may have to make financial accommodations to such contract manufacturers or otherwise take steps to mitigate supply disruption. We may be unable to locate an additional or alternate contract manufacturer that meets our quality controls and standards and regulatory requirements in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms. Any such difficulties could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, which could be material.

Because a substantial part of our operations are conducted in Israel and all members of our board of directors, management, as well as a majority of our employees and consultants, including employees of our service providers, are located in Israel, our business and operations are directly affected by economic, political, geopolitical and military conditions affecting Israel. Any political instability, terrorism, armed conflicts, reserve mobilization, cyberattacks, boycotts, direct or indirect sanctions and restrictions, or any other hostilities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its trading partners could adversely affect our operations. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its neighboring countries and other hostile non-state actors. These conflicts have involved missile strikes, hostile infiltrations and terrorism against civilian targets in various parts of Israel, which have negatively affected business conditions in Israel. In October 2023, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel's southern border from the Gaza Strip and conducted a series of attacks on civilian and military targets. Hamas also launched extensive rocket attacks on Israeli population and industrial centers located along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip and in other areas within the State of Israel. These attacks resulted in extensive deaths, injuries and kidnapping of civilians and soldiers, as well as evacuations of tens of thousands of civilians from their homes. Following the attack, Israel's security cabinet declared war against Hamas and a military campaign against these terrorist organizations commenced in parallel to their continued rocket and terror attacks. Furthermore, hostilities along Israel's northern border with Hezbollah located in Lebanon have accelerated, as a result of such, Israel has begun conducting a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon, which has the potential to escalate into a wider regional conflict. In addition, Iran has directly targeted Israel with ballistic missiles and other weaponry. The intensity and duration of Israel's current war against Hamas is difficult to predict, as are such war's economic implications on our business and operations and on Israel's economy in general. These events may be intertwined with wider macroeconomic indications of a deterioration of Israel's economic standing, for instance, a downgrade in Israel's credit rating by rating agencies (such as the downgrade by Moody's of its credit rating of Israel from A1 to A2, as well as the downgrade of its outlook rating from "stable" to "negative" followed by a second more recent downgrade from A2 to BAA1, and the S&P Global lowered its long-term credit rating from AA- to A+, as well as a downgrade of its short-term credit ratings from A-1+ to A-1, and recently, further downgraded this rating to A-, with an outlook on the long-term ratings "negative", as well as the downgrade by Fitch Ratings of its credit rating of Israel from A+ to A, with an outlook rating of "negative") which may have a material adverse effect on our company and our ability to effectively conduct its operations. Our facilities are not only within the range of rockets from the Gaza Strip, but also within the range of rockets that can be fired from Lebanon, Syria or elsewhere in the Middle East. In the event that our facilities are damaged as a result of hostile action or hostilities otherwise disrupt the ongoing operation of our facilities, our ability to deliver products to customers in a timely manner to meet our contractual obligations with customers and vendors could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, Plantify, in which we have an approximately 23% ownership interest, has facilities in Kibbutz Gonen, which is located in an area in northern Israel that has been affected by ongoing hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as part of ongoing war. Due to the continuous drone attacks, missile strikes, shootings and the limited ground operation in the region, the area has been completely evacuated of civilians, following which all the employees were put on unpaid leave until further notice. Plantify has ceased its operations at the Kibbutz Gonen facility and may not be able to resume its regular activities, including its ability to deliver products to customers in a timely manner, if the hostilities persist for an extended period which may have an adverse effect on its financial condition and ability to repay loans from us under a C$1,500,000 (approximately US$1,124,000) 8% debenture and a credit facility of up to $250,000, of which, Plantify has fully utilized to date. We have experienced delays in our pilots and packaging activities due to the war, as certain packing houses, such as Mehadrin, have halted operations for the time being. Additionally, we anticipated engaging additional packing houses to conduct pilots on strawberries and citruses with our product, but, due to the war, we were unable to continue pursuing new collaborations for these pilots, and we may not be able to resume any potential collaborations if the current war persists for an extended duration. We are unable to predict how long the current conflict will last, as well as the repercussions these delays will have on our operations. If we are unable to renew our pilots or collaborations with local packing houses our financial results may be affected. Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of events associated with war and terrorism. Although the Israeli government currently covers the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure you that this government coverage will be maintained or that it will sufficiently cover our potential damages. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business. As a result of the Israeli security cabinet's decision to declare war against Hamas, and possible hostilities with other organizations, several hundred thousand Israeli military reservists were drafted to perform immediate military service. Certain of our employees and consultants in Israel and employees of our service providers located in Israel, have been called, and additional employees may be called, for service in the current or future wars or other armed conflicts with Hamas, and such persons may be absent for an extended period of time. Although we have certain manufacturing capabilities in the United States, our Israeli operations may be disrupted by such absences, which may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, the absence of employees of our Israeli suppliers and contract manufacturers due to their military service in the current war or future wars or other armed conflicts may disrupt their operations, which in turn may event our materially and adversely affect our ability to deliver or provide products and services to customers. In addition, popular uprisings in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa have affected the political stability of those countries. Such instability may lead to a deterioration in the political and trade relationships that exist between the State of Israel and these countries. Moreover, some countries around the world restrict doing business with Israel and Israeli companies, and additional countries may impose restrictions on doing business with Israel and Israeli companies if hostilities in Israel or political instability in the region continues or increases. These restrictions may limit materially our ability to obtain raw materials from these countries or sell our products to companies and customers in these countries. Furthermore, following Hamas' attack on Israel and Israel's security cabinet declaration of war against Hamas, the Houthi movement, which controls parts of Yemen, launched a number of attacks on marine vessels traversing the Red Sea, which marine vessels were thought to either be in route towards Israel or to be partly owned by Israeli businessmen. The Red Sea is a vital maritime route for international trade traveling to or from Israel. As a result of such disruptions, we may experience in the future delays in supplier deliveries, extended lead times, and increased cost of freight, increased insurance costs, purchased materials and manufacturing labor costs. The risk of ongoing supply disruptions may further result in delayed deliveries of our products. Prior to the Hamas attack in October 2023, the Israeli government pursued extensive changes to Israel's judicial system, which sparked extensive political debate and unrest. In response to such initiative, many individuals, organizations and institutions, both within and outside of Israel, have voiced concerns that the proposed changes may negatively impact the business environment in Israel including due to reluctance of foreign investors to invest or transact business in Israel as well as to increased currency fluctuations, downgrades in credit rating, increased interest rates, increased volatility in security markets, and other changes in macroeconomic conditions. The risk of such negative developments has increased in light of the recent Hamas attacks and the war against Hamas declared by Israel. To the extent that any of these negative developments do occur, they may have an adverse effect on our business, our results of operations and our ability to raise additional funds, if deemed necessary by our management and board of directors.