Fruit
HortResearch has already developed a biosensor that measures hormone levels in saliva in real time to indicate to athletes whether they should train more or less. Now it is developing a new fruit-based product which could dramatically increase muscle power and delay fatigue. Clinical trials are underway on a fruit-based energy drink which tested off-the-charts in initial experiments. Isolated muscle tissue was exposed to fruit extracts, after which an electrical impulse was delivered. The results showed that muscle power was increased up to 70% and fatigue delayed by up to 20%. The company is currently in talks with international sports teams interested in trialling the drink and with specialist nutrition companies about a possible launch. Read More
2 January 2005 The next few years will see the development of many new forms of intelligent packaging, capable of far more than the labelling and branding roles packaging has served until now. Intelligent packaging that changes colour to indicate the ripeness of fruit it contains is destined for our supermarket shelves this year. Developed in New Zealand, ripeSense packaging technology is expected to bring significant efficiencies to the fresh fruit industry, reducing wastage and forever eradicating the old selling process of selling loose, usually unripe, fruit into bins, where it is bruised, squeezed and prodded to determine its ripeness. Read More
