Food

When it comes to buying packaged meat and fish, consumers usually just have to go by the “best before” label to know that it hasn’t begun to spoil. Needless to say, the dates on those labels are just estimates and certainly won’t tell you if the product has sat through a lengthy power failure, or been left out of the cooler for several hours. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies in Munich, however, have developed an inexpensive plastic film that will change color in the presence of rotten foods.  Read More

We've all done it – thrown out fruit or vegetables because they went rotten. Fungal contamination is the most common cause of spoilage of fresh produce, with an estimated 30 percent of harvested fruit and veggies falling victim to it. Countermeasures currently including synthetic fungicides and pre-package sanitation treatments involving the use of chlorine or bromine. Now a team of scientists from Britain's Newcastle University have discovered that much more effective and human-friendly results can be obtained by treating produce with ozone.  Read More

We’ve already heard about new types of packaging that use things such as sorbic acid and silver nanoparticles to keep food fresh for longer, but this week scientists from Texas A&M University announced the development of a “nano-brick” film that utilizes yet another substance to achieve the same purpose. That substance is montmorillonite clay, which is one of the ingredients used to make bricks. The film is about 70 percent clay (with the rest of it made from various polymer materials) and when its structure is viewed through an electron microscope, it actually even looks like bricks and mortar.  Read More

Scientists may be working on things like increasing the efficiency of solar cells, finding new methods of filtering water and growing hardier strains of wheat, but they have been woefully neglecting one important task for decades ... creating a better way of closing plastic bags. Currently, options include twist ties, spring-loaded clips, plastic tabs and zip-lock bags. The first three of those aren’t particularly sturdy, while it’s often difficult to get zip-locks to seal properly. Perhaps, however, all of us frustrated plastic-baggers might have better luck with the recently-released Pull Ties.  Read More

A study from researchers at Imperial College London seriously suggests that it may be wise for fast food outlets to provide statin drugs free of charge with the condiments, so that customers can neutralize the heart disease dangers of fatty food. Statins are a class of drugs that can reduce the amount of "LDL" cholesterol in the blood. Some data suggests that this reduction is accompanied by a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attack and stroke.  Read More

Silver is a known killer of harmful bacteria, and has already been incorporated into things such as antibacterial keyboards, washing machines, water filters, and plastic coatings for medical devices. Now, scientists have added another potential product to the list: silver nanoparticle-impregnated “killer paper" packaging, that could help keep food from spoiling.  Read More

It can be a tricky business, determining when grilled meat is properly cooked inside. You could buy a probe-equipped thermometer, but that would still need to be checked periodically – if you’re entertaining guests out by your barbecue, checking a thermometer is something that you could easily forget to do. What someone needs to invent is a cooking thermometer that notifies your iPhone, iPod or iPad via Bluetooth, when your steaks have reached the desired internal temperature. Needless to say, such a product has, in fact, been invented – it’s made by iDevices, and is called the iGrill.  Read More

Given that German scientists have already developed packaging film that kills food-inhabiting bacteria, it only makes sense that Scottish scientists should be developing the next step in the process – food packaging that changes color when the food is going bad. The “intelligent plastic” film, which is being created at Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde, is intended to take the guesswork out of whether or not the food packaged within it is still safe to eat.  Read More

Good news for dieters everywhere – stop trying not to think about that yummy treat because imagining eating it may actually reduce your desire to eat it! New research from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) contradicts the recognized wisdom that thinking about food will increase cravings, as their study suggests that simply imagining the consumption of a food decreases ones appetite for it.  Read More