Film Disappears In No Time
Add small portions of wrapped spices directly to your food.
Scientists have developed different types of transparent wrapping made of film or gel for encapsulating small packages of food.
The film is immediately dissolved, when it gets in contact with water. The wrapping, which is known from dishwasher tabs, now also comes in a taste and scent-free version made of edible polymers, i.e. chains of natural carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The film could include coffee or spice mixtures for specific dishes. Using the same method, scientists aim to develop portions of bouillon or oat flakes to be placed in a pot of hot water to dissolve into sauce or porridge.
The edible Ooho! gel bubbles are a bit more sturdy. Made of salt extracted from algae, the bubbles can hold up to ¼ l of liquid. They are intended to be an alternative to water bottles made of plastic.
packaging than companies reuse. According to data from 2014, the EU member states annually produce an average of 160 kg of packaging waste per capita, but only reuse about two thirds. This means that about 60 kg of waste from each European individual are taken to incineration plants or left in nature annually.
The manufacturing of the materials requires large quantities of fossil fuels, and the production emits greenhouse gases. When the materials are burned along with household waste or left in nature, the combustion gases emit CO2 to the atmosphere, and nature’s lengthy breakdown process releases chemicals, which disturb the food chain. In addition, pollution increases, because new wrapping must be produced.
NATURAL SUBSTANCES TAKE OVER
Instead, new types of packaging are made of natural materials, which do not pollute and can be broken down much faster by natural microorganisms.
One possibility is to replace the polymer chains of oil, which turn into plastic, by strong natural molecule chains. The polymers can produce soluble film, which disappears the second it gets in contact with liquid, releasing its contents.
Meanwhile, Danish scientists have developed a bottle made of recycled paper lined with a thin layer of sand, which can be broken down by microorganisms in six months. Another new wrapping consists of carbohydrates from algae. It can be eaten along with its contents or broken down as waste in a matter of six weeks.
Bob’s Burgers was among the first companies to introduce edible wrapping, and the customers took a while to get used to eating the white paper. Similar products will soon be available, and if they are positively received by consumers, polluting packaging
could be a thing of the past.